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FIGHTERS 

FOR 

PEACE 

MARY  R.PARKMAN 


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Pliotoisrii.il  lo    Harris  &  Ewing 


ALBERT  I 
King  of  Belgium 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 


BY 
MARY  R.   PARKMAN 

Author  of  "Heroes  of  To-Day, "   "Heroines 
OF  Service,"  etc. 


ILLUSTRATED  WITH 
PHOTOGRAPHS 


NEW  YORK 
THE  CENTURY  CO. 


Copyright,  1919,  by 
The  Ce.vtuby  Co. 


Published,  March,  1919 


J 


To  C.  W. 
Whose  generous  assistance  and 
exacting  criticism  made  pos- 
.  ^  sible   the   preparation 

of  these  sketches 


(<\ 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

The  Champion  of  Honor:     King  Albert  of  Bel- 
gium     3 

The  Hero  of  the  Marne  :    Marshall  Joffre  .     .     27 
The  Chevalier  op  Flight:    Captain  Guynemer  .     47 

"Le  Patron":    Marshall  Foch 75 

The  ' '  Tiger  ' '  as  Man  of  Victory  :    Premier  Clem- 

enceau 99 

The  Man  Behind  the  Guns  :    David  Lloyd  George  123 
Crusaders  of  the  War 

I.  The  Liberator  of  Bagdad  :    General  Maude  151 

II.  The    Deliverer    op    Jerusalem  :     General 

Allenby 179 

The  Spirit  of  Garibaldi:    Victor  Emanuel  and 

His  Armies 203 

"The  Big  Chief":     General  Pershing      .      .      .  229 

The  Chivalry  op  the  Sea  :     Admiral  Beatty  .      .  257 

The  Champion  op  Peace  :    President  Wilson  .     .  285 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Albert  I,  King  of  Belgium Frontispiece 

J-ACINQ 
PAGE 

Joseph-Jacques-Cesaire  Joffre,  Marshal  of  France    .     32 

The  late  Georges  Guynemer,  French  Ace       ...     64 

Marshal  Ferdinand  Foch 88 

Georges  Clemeneeau,  Premier  of  France  .      .      .      .112 

David  Lloyd  George,  Premier  of  Great  Britain  .      .  136 

Sir  Frederic  Stanley  Maude,  the  late  Lieutenant- 

General 168 

General  Sir  Edmund  Allenby 1^2 

Victor  Emmanuel  III,  King  of  Italy 216 

General  .John  Joseph  Pershing 240 

Admiral  Sir  David  Beatty 272 

Woodrow  Wilson,  President  of  the  United  States     .  296 


THE  CHAMPION  OF  HONOR? 
KING  ALBERT  OF  BELGIUM 


"If  it  is  necessary  for  us  to  resist  an  invasion  of  our  soil,  that 
duty  will  find  us  armed  and  ready  to  make  the  greatest  sacri- 
fices. ...  I  have  faith  in  our  destinies.  A  country  which  de- 
fends itself  wins  the  respect  of  all,  and  cannot  perish." 

King  Albert  of  Belgium. 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 


THE  CHAMPION  OF  HONOR 

AT  first  it  did  not  seem  as  if  Destiny  had 
picked  him  out  for  a  king.  His  older 
brother  was  the  heir  presumptive,  and  nobody 
dreamed  that  a  lad  so  vigorous  would  not  live  to 
reign.  Prince  Albert,  therefore,  was  permitted 
to  go  quietly  and  happily  along  through  his  child- 
hood without  *'the  fierce  light  which  beats  upon 
a  throne"  dazzling  or  bewildering  his  young  spirit. 
He  was  born  in  April,  1875,  in  the  palace  of  the 
Rue  de  la  Regence  in  Brussels,  but  of  all  the  royal 
houses  where  he  spent  part  of  his  time,  he  loved 
the  chateau  of  Amerois  best.  It  was  beautiful 
living  on  a  hilltop,  with  a  quaint  old  town  that 
seemed  like  a  story-book  village  nestling  at  its 
foot,  and  the  ancient  Ardennes  forest  for  a  play- 
ground. The  terrace  was  a  free,  skyey  place, 
where  by  day  he  could  look  out  across  the  green 
valley  of  the  Semois  to  the  distant  pine-covered 
hiUs,  and  where  at  night  he  could  in  a  moment 

3 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

slip  far  away  from  the  world  into  a  wonderful 
tent  of  stars. 

The  days  seemed  made  for  delight  in  the  splen- 
did park  of  the  chateau,  where  one  could  ramble 
over  the  hillside,  cooled  by  the  spray  of  silver 
streams  cascading  down  to  the  valley,  or  loiter 
and  dream  in  the  green  and  gold  paradise  among 
the  friendly  trees.  Within  doors,  too,  life  was 
full  of  charm.  There  were  the  great  halls  with 
pictures  of  people,  his  own  people — kings  and 
princes  about  whom  his  mother  told  him  wonder- 
ful stories.  But  when  he  was  still  a  little  boy 
he  learned  to  look  upon  the  library  where  his 
father  loved  to  spend  his  days  as  the  best  place  of 
all.  Here  one  could  in  a  moment  through  the 
magic  of  a  book  find  wings  for  his  spirit  and  slip 
away  to  distant  lands  or  far-away  times  where 
there  were  all  sorts  of  interesting  people  and 
things  to  think  about. 

But  there  were  many  real  people  coming  and 
going  all  the  time,  who  made  him  think  and  wonder 
too.  There  was  his  uncle,  the  King,  who  often 
used  to  look  at  him  and  his  brother  in  a  strange, 
dark  way  that  filled  him  with  awe.  ' '  The  one  who 
rules  a  nation  has  many  cares,"  his  father  ex- 
plained.   ''Besides,  your  uncle  still  grieves  over 

4 


THE  CHAMPION  OF  HONOR 

the  loss  of  his  boy.  He  may  think  it  is  strange 
that  I  have  two  tall,  strong  boys,  while  his  only 
son  was  not  permitted  to  grow  up  to  take  his  place 
as  king."  But  most  of  their  friends — princes  and 
counts,  not  only  of  Belgium  but  also  royal  cousins 
from  other  countries — seemed  to  find  life  one 
happy  holiday. 

Perhaps  Prince  Albert  would  have  taken  it  for 
granted  that  the  world  was  made  for  enjoyment 
if  he  had  not  seen  very  early  another,  darker  side 
even  at  the  forest  chateau.  There  w^ere  poor,  un- 
happy people,  many  of  them,  vdio  came  to  their 
door  with  tales  of  trouble  and  want.  He  often 
saw  his  mother's  eyes  fill  with  tears  as  she  talked 
to  these  people,  and  he  knew  that  she  never  turned 
any  one  away  without  help.  But  still  he  wondered 
about  it  all.  It  was  strange  that  some  children 
should  have  everything  and  others  have  nothing 
at  all. 

He  went  one  day  to  his  father  with  his  question. 
''It  does  n't  seem  right  that  so  many  people  should 
have  to  hecj  for  what  they  need  from  others  who 
have  so  much  more  than  enough,"  he  said. 
"Isn't  there  some  way  that  all  can  have  a  fair 
chance  to  help  themselves?" 

The  Count  of  Flanders  looked  up  from  h!s  book 

5 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

and  regarded  the  boy  thoughtfully.  A  man  of 
many  gifts,  he  had,  because  of  growing  deafness, 
given  up  his  claim  to  the  throne  and  all  part  in 
public  affairs.  His  books  were  the  chief  joy  and 
solace  of  his  days. 

**You  are  wondering  about  a  thing  that  has 
puzzled  many  wise  heads  and  kind  hearts  for  a 
long  time,"  he  said.  '*It  has  always  been  a  world 
of  rich  and  poor." 

"Yet,"  insisted  the  Prince,  ''that  doesn't  prove 
that  it  always  must  be  so,  does  it?  Surely  we 
might  make  things  a  little  better. ' ' 

*  *  Yes,  my  boy,  that  is  what  the  King  is  working 
for  all  the  time — to  build  up  trade  that  will  make 
Belgium  more  prosperous,"  his  father  replied. 

''Perhaps  I  can  help,  too,  one  of  these  days,'* 
said  Albert. 

This  talk  set  him  to  thinking.  Surely  a  prince 
was  in  honor  bound  to  serve  his  people  in  every 
way.  "A  prince  must  be  one  who  is  able  and 
ready  to  lead,"  he  said  to  himself.  "Otherwise 
he  has  no  excuse  for  being,  nor  has  loyalty  any 
meaning.  I  must  set  about  learning  the  things 
that  will  make  me  know  how  best  to  be  useful  to 
my  country. ' ' 

* '  I  want  to  read  the  books  that  tell  about  wealth 

6 


THE  CHAMPION  OF  HONOR 

and  poverty,  and  the  ways  of  managing  the  affairs 
of  a  country  in  the  best  way,"  he  said  one  day 
to  his  tutor. 

**I  suppose  you  refer  to  political  economy  and 
sociolog5%"  replied  the  teacher.  ''I  was  planning 
to  introduce  you  to  those  serious  sciences  when 
you  are  a  little  older." 

*'I  think  I  am  ready  now,"  said  the  Prince. 

So  it  was  that  the  boy  began  early  to  think  about 
the  subjects  which  claimed  much  of  his  serious 
study  in  later  years.  Of  course  he  knew  he  was 
to  be  a  soldier — all  princes  were  born  to  the  army 
— but  there  would  be  time  for  much  besides  sol- 
diering. However,  when  at  sixteen  he  was  ready 
to  enter  the  Belgian  Military  School,  his  life  had 
suddenly  changed.  His  older  brother,  Prince 
Baudouin,  had  died,  and  as  heir  to  the  throne  he 
found  that  his  training  had  become  a  matter  of 
special  concern.  The  King,  himself,  presented 
him  to  his  teachers  and  classmates,  and  his  speech 
of  introduction  was  a  great  ordeal,  for  Leopold 
II,  tall,  commanding,  and  much  given  to  unex- 
pected shafts  of  wit,  was  an  awe-inspiring  person 
even  to  those  of  his  own  family. 

However,  Prince  Albert  soon  won  a  place  for 
himself  among  his  fellows,  as  one  of  them.    It 

7 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

did  not  take  them  long  to  perceive  that  the  tall, 
lanky  youth,  who  did  not  know  what  to  do  with 
his  newly  acquired  inches  or  his  hands  and  feet, 
was  as  shy  as  themselves;  and  that,  moreover, 
he  was  a  genuinely  good  fellow  both  in  the  class- 
room and  on  the  playground.  In  trying  to  put 
the  awkward  boy  at  his  ease,  they  forgot  to  stand 
in  awe  of  the  future  king. 

The  Belgian  Military  School  was  a  thoroughly 
democratic  institution.  In  the  case  of  only  a 
crack  regiment  or  two  were  the  officers  members 
of  the  nobility.  A  uniform  did  not  carry  social 
prestige,  and,  since  the  army  was  notoriously  un- 
derpaid, there  was  little  inducement  for  ambitious 
youths  to  adopt  a  military  career.  Besides,  no- 
body took  the  service  very  seriously.  A  neutral 
country  like  Belgium  was  by  its  treaties  absolved 
from  the  necessity  of  being  prepared  to  protect 
itself,  people  said. 

The  soldiers  were  recruited  in  a  very  curious 
fashion — by  a  draft  from  which  any  one  who  drew 
a  bad  number  might  get  his  release  by  paying  for 
a  substitute.  Only  the  very  poorest  could  not, 
by  borrowing  or  otherwise,  muster  enough  money 
to  secure  exemption  from  a  service  that  would 
encroach   upon    their   best   earning   years.     The 

8 


THE  CHAMPION  OF  HONOR 

ranks  of  the  privates,  then,  were  lilled  by  the 
patriotic  few  who  did  not  believe  in  tiie  substitute 
system,  and  the  unfortunate  many,  who  were  so 
poor  that  they  had  been  willing,  as  the  officers 
said, '  *  to  sell  their  skin. ' '  For  these  latter,  Prince 
Albert  did  not  share  the  contempt  of  his  mates, 
and  he  treated  all  the  men  with  a  uniform  friend- 
liness which  showed  that  even  in  his  thought  he 
made  no  distinction. 

*'The  men  are  in  most  cases  no  more  to  blame 
for  their  poverty  than  they  are  for  cur  abominable 
system  of  recruiting,"  he  said.  ''If  I  am  ever 
king  I  shall  see  that  Belgium  has  a  real  army 
that  rests  on  the  service  of  all  her  sons.  A  nation 
must  be  able  to  defend  itself  in  order  to  respect 
itself  and  to  win  the  respect  of  others." 

King  Leopold  II  had  been  striving  valiantly  to 
bring  about  this  reform,  in  spite  of  the  indifference 
of  the  great  mass  of  the  people.  His  very  last 
act  was  to  sign  a  law  that  went  far  toward  bring- 
ing about  a  better  order  of  things,  and  King  Al- 
bert's first  work  after  coming  to  the  throne  was 
to  carry  his  plans  to  completion  by  introducing 
general  military  service. 

"When  the  people  stand  shoulder  to  shoulder 
they  will  know  each  other  better,"  said  Prince 

9 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

Albert  to  himself,  ''and  they  will  feel  that  they 
are  all  Belgians,  forgetting  the  differences  between 
Flemings  and  Walloons." 

For  little  Belgium  is  as  a  nation  very  young, 
having  been  created  in  1830  by  international  poli- 
tics to  help  maintain  the  balance  of  power.  Its 
population  is  made  up  of  two  distinct  races — the 
Walloons,  a  Latin  people  speaking  French;  and 
the  Flemings,  a  branch  of  the  Teutonic  family 
whose  tongue  is  much  like  that  of  the  Dutch. 
French  was  the  official  language  of  the  country, 
and  for  a  long  time  the  Flemish  speech  and  ways 
were  regarded  as  a  mark  of  inferiority ;  for,  while 
the  Flemings  outnumbered  the  Walloons,  they  be- 
longed for  the  most  part  to  the  humbler  classes. 
With  the  growth  of  industry  and  commerce,  how- 
ever, many  of  this  despised  race  rose  to  wealth  and 
influence,  and,  discovering  that  they  belonged  to 
a  people  quite  as  old  and  honorable  as  the  haughty 
Walloons,  they  demanded  equal  chance  for  the 
preservation  of  their  language  and  traditions. 
This  rivalry  grew;  and  when  King  Albert  began 
his  reign  it  was  commonly  said  that  there  were 
no  Belgians,  only  Walloons  and  Flemings. 

"I  must  from  the  first  be  the  King  of  all  my 

10 


THE  CHAMPION  OF  HONOR 

people,"  he  said;  *'only  iu  that  way  can  I  help 
them  to  feel  that  we  are  truly  oue  nation. ' ' 

So  it  was  that  when,  in  1909,  King  Albert  ad- 
dressed his  parliament  for  the  first  time,  he  took 
the  oath  both  in  Flemish  and  French.  As  the 
last  words  sounded  through  the  noble  Belgian 
Chamber:  ''I  swear  to  myself  and  to  the  coun- 
try to  fulfil  scrupulously  my  duties,  and  to  conse- 
crate all  my  forces  and  all  my  life  to  the  service 
of  our  native  land" — the  people  gathered  there 
were  exalted,  thrilled.  It  was  the  first  time  that 
the  Flemish  tongue  had  been  heard  in  that  place, 
but  it  was  not  so  much  of  that  they  were  thinking 
now  as  of  their  king  himself.  Of  course  they 
might  have  known  he  would  do  it;  had  he  not 
as  prince  always  done  what  was  fair  and  right 
in  little  things  and  great?  Albert  was  every  inch 
a  king,  and  his  reign  would  be  both  good  and 
glorious,  they  thought,  as  they  looked  at  the  tall 
figure,  the  fair,  noble  face,  and  earnest,  kindly 
blue  eyes.  ''Vive  le  Roi!  Vive  Albert!"  the 
shout  went  up  on  every  side,  and  there  was  heart- 
felt affection  as  well  as  loyalty  in  the  cry. 

As  a  prince,  Albert  had  endeared  himself  to 
the  people  by  his  efforts  to  improve  the  condition 

11 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

of  the  poor.  His  interest  in  problems  of  political 
economy  and  social  service  had  grown  and  borne 
fruit.  ' '  The  rich  and  great  can  take  care  of  them- 
selves," he  used  to  say;  "it  must  be  my  task  to 
help  the  poor  to  help  themselves."  He  made  a 
journey  to  America  to  learn  about  conditions  of 
workers  in  the  new  world;  in  particular,  under 
the  friendly  guidance  of  James  J.  Hill,  he  made 
a  serious  study  of  railroads.  In  England,  dis- 
guised as  a  newspaper  reporter,  he  lived  for  a 
time  trying  to  glean  some  knowledge  of  the  con- 
ditions under  which  the  shipbuilders  and  fisher- 
men worked. 

*'I  never  see  a  machine  or  a  motor  without 
wanting  to  know  the  what  and  how  of  it, ' '  he  once 
said.  In  following  up  this  native  interest,  he 
gained  an  astonishing  practical  knowledge  of  the 
construction  of  ships,  automobiles,  and  airplanes. 
He  could  on  occasion  mend  his  own  machine  or 
act  as  his  own  chauffeur.  And  knowing  machines 
gave  him  something  that  he  longed  to  possess 
— a  real  understanding  of  the  men  who  must  do 
the  machine  work  of  the  world. 

Not  content  with  these  efforts  to  know  his  own 
people,  the  Prince  sought  to  get  some  personal 
know^ledge  of  the  savages  of  the  Congo  Free  State 

12 


THE  CHAMPION  OF  HONOR 

who  were  dependent  on  Belgium.  For,  since 
Leopold  ii  had  provided  Stanley  with  the  means 
of  exploring  this  vast  territoi-y  of  central  Africa, 
it  had  come  under  the  absolute  control  of  the 
King,  and  he  in  turn  had  willed  his  interest  to 
his  country.  "I  must  know  about  that  part  of  my 
job  as  King  of  Belgium,"  said  Albert  to  himself, 
determined  to  see  for  himself  the  condition  of 
the  savages,  who,  it  was  said,  were  grossly  ill- 
treated  by  native  taskmasters,  put  in  control  by 
the  Belgian  rubber  merchants. 

In  1909,  therefore,  Albert  set  out  for  Africa 
and  spent  three  months  traversing  the  dense 
forests  and  tropical  jungles  of  that  savage  coun- 
try, walking  in  all  some  fifteen  hundred  miles. 
Everywhere  the  blacks  gathered  about  in  happy 
excitement  to  see  the  ''Tall  Man,  Breaker  of 
Stones,"  as  they  called  him.  ''I  am  not  the 
King,"  he  said;  **I  cannot  do  everything.  But 
I  have  come  here  because  I  want  to  know  you, 
and  find  out  what  we  in  Belgium  can  do  to  help 
you." 

The  day  of  Prince  Albert's  return  to  his  coun- 
try was  an  occasion  of  great  rejoicing.  The 
people  of  every  party  vied  with  each  other  in 
doing  honor  to  the  Prince  who  had  been  prepar- 

13 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

iug  himself  to   rule   by  learning  how  to  serve. 

The  Prince's  marriage,  nine  years  before  the 
Congo  trip,  had  also  been  a  time  of  public  jubila- 
tion. .  .  .  On  a  visit  to  Munich  he  had  become 
acquainted  with  Princess  Elizabeth  of  Bavaria, 
daughter  of  a  man  to  whom  the  ability  to  serve 
his  people  meant  more  than  the  power  and  place 
he  had  inherited  from  his  royal  forebears.  A  fa- 
mous oculist  who  spent  his  days  in  a  hospital, 
Duke  Charles  Theodor  had  brought  up  his  two 
daughters  to  feel  that  there  is  nothing  more  royal 
than  service.  Both  had  passed  through  the  regu- 
lar hospital  training  as  nurses,  and  Elizabeth  had, 
moreover,  taken  the  full  medical  course.  The 
young  Belgian  prince  was  at  once  drawn  to  this 
family  whose  ideas  of  kingly  privileges  were  so 
like  his  own;  and  it  was  not  long  before  Belgium 
was  thrilled  by  the  news  that  their  prince  was 
to  marry  Princess  Elizabeth. 

"Was  there  ever  a  more  beautiful  royal  ro- 
mance!" they  said;  and,  when  they  saw  their 
future  queen,  fair,  dainty  and  appealing, — ''Was 
there  ever  a  lovelier  princess!"  For  all  felt  at 
once  that  she  was  quite  tlie  fairy-book  heroine — 
"good  as  she  was  beautiful";  and  who  could 
doubt  that  the  romance  would  have  the  correct 

14 


THE  CHAMPION  OF  HONOR 

fairy-book  euding:  "They  lived  liappy  ever 
after"? 

Any  one  who  saw  Kiug  Albert  on  his  coronatiou 
day,  riding  at  the  head  of  his  stall:',  would  have 
said,  looking  from  the  noble,  commanding  figure 
in  the  general's  uniform  to  the  fine,  earnest  face, 
*'He  will  be  a  king  indeed — in  peace  or  in  war," 
And  any  one  who  saw  the  carriage  drawn  by  six 
horses — quite  in  the  fairy-book  manner — where 
rode  their  beloved  queen  and  the  two  young 
princes,  Leopold  and  Charles,  with  the  King's 
mother,  the  Countess  of  Flanders,  would  have  said 
that  there  was  nothing  wanting  in  the  happiness 
of  the  royal  family. 

Among  King  Albert's  brother  monarchs  who 
accompanied  him  on  that  gala  day  was  Wilhelm 
of  Hohenzollern ;  and  again  in  April,  1910,  the 
German  Emperor  made  a  point  of  visiting  Belgium 
to  assure  the  people  of  his  warm  regard : 

''Full  of  amiable  s\inpathy,  I,  in  common  with 
all  Germany,  observe  the  surprising  success  which 
the  Belgian  people  has  won  in  all  the  domains 
of  commerce  and  industry.  .  .  .  May  the  reign  of 
your  Majesty  spread  happiness  and  prosperity 
amongst  your  royal  house  and  among  your  people. 
This  is  the  profound  wish  of  my  heart,  with  which 

15 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

I  cry,  Long  live  their  Majesties,  the  King  and 
Queen  of  the  Belgians!" 

When  the  German  army  entered  Brussels  four 
years  later,  they  found  copies  of  this  speech  posted 
on  every  side;  but  these  were,  of  course,  only 
annoying  ''scraps  of  paper,"  which  were  soon 
torn  down  and  thrust  out  of  sight. 

King  Albert  had,  two  years  before  the  German 
invasion,  been  warned  by  one  of  his  royal  kinsmen 
that  the  Kaiser  did  not  intend  to  regard  the  treaty 
guaranteeing  the  neutrality  of  Belgium,  but  that 
he  was  making  plans  to  attack  France  through 
that  country.  This  warning  made  it  clear  that 
Belgium,  in  spite  of  the  solemn  pledge  of  the  great 
nations,  might  need  in  desperate  earnest  an  army 
of  defense;  but  King  Albert's  plans  for  its  organ- 
ization were  only  realized  in  part  when  the  storm 
broke.  On  August  2,  1914,  the  King  received  the 
German  ultimatum,  demanding  that  Belgium  al- 
low the  Imperial  army  free  passage  through  its 
territory  on  penalty  of  being  regarded  as  an 
enemy. 

Now,  in  a  moment,  the  heroic  character  of  king 
and  people  was  revealed  to  the  world.  To  the 
great  nation  whose  minister  had  just  declared  that 
their  treaty  was  a  mere  ''scrap  of  paper"  which 

16 


THE  CHAMPION  OF  HONOR 

they  would  naturally  disregard  since  "necessity 
knows  no  law,"  the  little  defenseless  country  sent 
this  reply:  *'The  German  ultimatum  has  caused 
the  Belgian  people  deep  and  painful  astonishment ; 
and  Belgium  refuses  to  believe  that  her  independ- 
ence can  only  be  preserved  at  the  cost  of  violating 
her  neutrality." 

When,  on  that  fateful  day  of  August,  1914, 
King  Albert,  the  champion  of  honor,  stood  before 
his  parliament,  there  was  a  moment  of  suspense. 
Would  the  different  parties  stand  together  in  this 
dark  hour  f  Would  the  soldier-king  have  a  united 
country  at  his  back?  As  the  King  looked  about 
him  at  the  representatives  of  the  people  his  words 
rang  out  manfully : 

*'If  a  stranger  should  violate  our  territory  he 
will  find  all  the  Belgians  gathered  around  their 
Sovereign,  who  will  never  betray  his  constitutional 
oath.  I  have  faith  in  our  destinies.  A  country 
which  defends  itself  wins  the  respect  of  all,  and 
cannot  perish.     God  will  be  with  us." 

For  a  moment  there  was  a  hush  and  then  a  great 
rallying  cry.  Belgium  was  one  in  its  resolution 
to  fight  for  its  honor  to  the  last.  Party  rivalry 
was  forgotten;  and  the  saying  "Flemish  and 
Walloon  are  only  Christian  names ;  Belgian  is  our 

17 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

family   name"    proved    more    than   idle    words. 

It  was  impossible  for  the  Germans  to  realize 
how  any  intelligent  people  could  be  so  foolish  as 
to  stand  out  for  an  idea — for  a  mere  word,  like 
honor — when  every  instinct  of  prudence  and  com- 
mon sense  bade  them  submit  to  the  nation  that 
had  the  power  to  make  good  its  threats. 

''Oh,  these  poor,  stupid  Belgians!"  cried  the 
German  minister  with  tears  in  his  eyes.  "Why 
don't  they  get  out  of  the  way!  I  know  what  it 
will  be.  I  know  the  German  army.  It  will  be  like 
laying  a  baby  on  the  track  before  a  locomotive ! ' ' 

The  world  knows  how  bravely  the  hastily  mob- 
ilized, half-equipped  little  army  fought  at  Liege; 
how,  as  the  shield  of  France  and  of  civilization, 
they  held  back  the  invading  host  until  the  Allies 
were  able  to  organize  their  forces  for  defense. 
Hoping  against  hope  that  help  would  come  in  time 
to  save  Brussels,  they  fought  with  the  strength 
of  desperation.  Then  the  King  decided  to  with- 
draw the  armed  force  from  both  Brussels  and 
Louvain,  in  order  to  save  if  possible  their  historic 
buildings  and  monuments  from  destruction.  At 
Antwerp  a  last  stand  was  made. 

Think  of  what  that  tragic  retreat  meant  to  the 
King  who  had  dreamed  of  leading  a  peaceful  na- 

18 


TPIE  CHAMPION  OF  HONOR 

tion  into  ways  of  prosperity  and  contentment. 
Behind  him  he  saw  fields  of  golden  grain  trampled 
under  foot,  homes  burned,  churches  destroyed, 
women  and  children  homeless  and  helpless.  Those 
wdio  saw  his  face  in  those  days  knew  that  his  heart 
was  heavj'  with  the  sorrows  of  all  his  people. 

For  a  brief  breathing  space  Antwerp  was 
spared;  and  then  the  Germans,  failing  to  take 
Paris,  fell  back  on  the  Belgian  city  for  the  con- 
solation of  a  minor  success.  Then  it  was  that 
King  Albert  retreated  to  the  tiny  corner  of  land 
near  the  sea-coast  that  was  for  four  years  all  that 
remained  of  free  Belgium.  Here  in  that  land  of 
dikes  and  dunes,  they  opened  the  sluice  gates, 
letting  in  the  sea  to  help  stay  the  advance  of  the 
enemy.  And  for  four  years  the  brave  Belgians 
kept  their  line  in  the  flooded  country,  holding 
back  200,000  Germans  and  guarding  the  coast  pas- 
sage to  Calais. 

Can  you  picture  the  staunch,  uncomplaining 
little  Belgians  at  their  posts  amid  mud  and  water, 
w^ading  up  to  their  knees  in  passing  from  one  line 
of  defense  to  another!  Of  course  digging  in  was 
impossible.  They  selected  a  spot  of  high  ground, 
such  as  a  railroad  embankment,  and  made  them- 
selves barricades  of  sand  bags,  which  had  to  be 

19 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

rebuilt  again  and  again  as  they  were  scattered 
by  the  enemy  fire  or  melted  down  by  the  rain. 
After  a  man  had  been  plunging  about  for  three 
or  four  hours  bringing  sand  for  parapets  and 
reeds  for  camouflage  his  clothes  became  so 
weighted  with  mud  that  he  could  scarcely  move. 
His  heart  within  him,  too,  must  have  been  heavy 
indeed  as  he  thought  of  his  home  destroyed,  his 
harvest  for  which  he  had  toiled  seized  by  the  Ger- 
mans, his  family  scattered — cold  and  hungry,  per- 
haps, at  that  very  moment.  All  that  he  could  see 
as  he  looked  about  him  was  a  ghostly  gray  land 
of  flood  and  mist,  with  a  farm  or  two  rising  here 
and  there  like  half-submerged  islands.  This  was 
all  that  remained  to  Belgians  of  their  smiling, 
fertile  country.  Yet  King  Albert's  soldiers  were 
always  cheerful. 

"There  is  only  one  thing  that  counts,"  said  a 
Belgian  officer,  "to  stand  by  our  king  until  victory 
comes.  For  win  we  must.  .  .  .  Did  they  show  you 
the  site  of  that  German  villa  on  the  beach  which 
covered  a  cemented  platform  for  a  gun  that  could 
have  raked  Nieuport?  That  place  was  planned 
strategically  and  built  long  before  the  war — at  a 
time  the  Kaiser  was  congratulating  us  on  our 
prosperity.     Do  you  think  that  the  war-makers 

20 


THE  CHAMPION  OF  HONOR 

will  find  that  there  is  no  god  but  brute  force!** 

In  the  spirit  that  says,  "We  await  the  end,"  the 
Belgians  rallied  about  their  leader  who  shared 
their  fortunes  from  first  to  last.  Many  stories 
are  told  of  his  visits  to  the  advance  lines,  of  his 
heartening  words  to  the  soldiers,  of  the  way  he 
had  been  known  to  seize  the  gun  and  drop  into 
the  place  of  a  man  who  had  been  hit.  He  never 
left  bis  army  or  the  bit  of  Belgian  soil  that  re- 
mained to  him  except  for  brief  visits  to  the  leaders 
of  the  Allied  forces  in  France. 

And  Queen  Elizabeth  never  left  his  side  except 
for  flying  visits  to  her  children  in  England.  The 
''bonne  petite  reine,"  (good  little  queen),  as  the 
people  call  her,  was  from  the  first  in  charge  of 
ambulance  and  hospital  work  at  the  front.  Daily 
she  visited  the  Ocean  Ambulance,  comforting  and 
cheering  the  sick  and  wounded  as  well  as  directing 
the  nurses. 

' '  One  can  see  the  hand  of  Providence  in  my  early 
training  that  prepared  me  to  meet  this  need,"  she 
said  simply. 

A  little  summer  villa  between  the  sand  dunes 
and  the  sea  at  the  fishing  village  of  La  Panne  was 
for  months  the  home  of  the  King  and  Queen. 
Here  they  were  together  when  the  King  was  not 

21 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

at  his  headquarters  or  with  his  troops.  With 
hostile  airplanes  circling  overhead  and  cannon 
ceaselessly  booming  in  the  distance,  there  was 
never  a  time  when  they  could,  in  the  sound  of  the 
eternal  wash  of  the  waves,  forget  the  tragedy  of 
the  present  hour. 

Slowly  but  surely,  however,  the  scene  changed 
on  that  dismal  Belgian  front.  Above  the  gray 
flooded  waste  masses  of  waving  reeds  sprang  up, 
where  gulls,  ducks,  and  other  water  birds  hovered 
about.  Kindly  Nature  strove  to  reclaim  the  war- 
blasted  land  even  while  the  work  of  destruction 
went  on.  And  man,  too,  had  wrought  changes. 
Foot-bridges  were  laid  across  the  water  separat- 
ing the  various  lines  of  defense,  and  wonderful 
camouflage  screens  of  reeds  covered  the  roads  and 
the  stations  of  the  machine  guns.  The  men,  too, 
had  developed  a  hardihood  of  body  and  mind  that 
was  proof  against  discomforts  and  difficulties. 

A  famous  cartoonist  made  a  drawing  showing 
King  Albert  standing  amid  the  ruins  of  his  coun- 
try, confronted  by  the  Kaiser  who  taunted  him 
in  this  wise:  ''You  see  you  have  lost  every- 
thing!" "Not  my  soul!"  replied  the  Belgian 
King.  .  .  .  Even  in  the  darkest  days  when  Bel- 
gium seemed  utterly  at  the  mercy  of  the  invaders, 

22 


THE  CHAMPION  OF  HONOR 

who  carried  off  her  treasures,  destroyed  her  means 
of  industry,  put  to  death  many  of  her  people  and 
deported  many  more  to  work  in  the  land  of  the 
oppressor, — even  then  the  unconquerable  soul  of 
the  nation  was  marching  on  to  a  sure  triumph. 

For  the  conscience  of  the  world  was  with  Bel- 
gium, and  all  the  free  peoples  of  the  earth  were 
aroused.  Thousands  of  men  from  across  the  sea 
came  to  take  up  the  battle.  The  King  who  had 
stood  as  the  champion  of  honor  was  the  leader, 
not  only  of  his  o^vn  brave  nation,  but  of  a  mighty 
host  from  many  lands.     Victory  was  sure. 

On  November  22,  1918,  King  Albert  entered 
Brussels  at  the  head  of  his  army,  followed  by 
French,  English  and  American  troops.  Flowers 
were  thrown  in  his  way.  The  joy  of  the  people 
knew  no  bounds ;  it  seemed  as  if  the  dawn  of  peace 
and  the  great  day  of  freedom  of  the  nations  had 
come.  The  bells  of  Belgium  could  peal  out  from 
her  steeples,  ringing  out  the  sad  time  of  cruelty 
and  oppression,  ringing  in  the  new  day  when  there 
should  be  no  fear  that  even  the  chimes  of  her 
churches  would  be  seized  to  make  cannon  for  the 
enemy. 

As  the  King  rode  by  on  horseback  with  his 
two  young  sons — the  Crown  Prince  in  khaki  and 

23 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

the  Count  of  Flanders  as  a  midshipman — a  father 
lifted  his  little  boy  to  his  shoulder  that  he  might 
see  over  the  surging  crowd. 

**This  is  a  great  day,  my  son,"  he  said,  "but  I 
remember  a  greater.  It  was  the  day  the  King 
stood  before  the  representatives  of  the  people  and, 
speaking  for  them,  said  that  come  what  might, 
Belgium  would  be  faithful  to  her  word  and  the 
trust  of  the  nations.  That  was  the  real  moment 
of  victory." 


24 


THE  HERO  OF  THE  MARNE: 
MARSHALL  JOFFRE 


Give  us  a  name  to  stir  the  blood 
With  a  warmer  glow  and  a  swifter  flood,^ 
A  name  like  the  sound  of  a  trumpet,  clear, 
And  silver-sweet,  and  iron-strong, 
That  calls  three  million  men  to  their  feet, 
Ready  to  march,  and  steady  to  meet 
The  foes  who  threaten  that  name  with  wrong, — 
A  name  that  rings  like  a  battle-song, — 
I  give  you  France! 

Henry  Van  Dyke. 


THE  HERO  OF  THE  MARNE 

WE  are  told  that  a  certain  man  who  feared 
that  his  ambition  might  sleep  never  to 
wake,  bade  his  servant  say  each  morning  as  he 
let  the  light  of  the  new  day  into  his  bed-room, 
''Remember  that  you  have  great  things  to  accom- 
plish!" Most  of  us  know  how  easy  it  is  for  the 
many  little  things  that  make  up  our  every  day 
lives  to  crowd  out  all  thought  of  the  big  things 
that  we  hope  to  do  some  time.  We  realize  that 
we  need  many  reminders  and  much  urging  to 
arouse  the  sleepy  will  within. 

But  the  boy  who  grew  to  be  the  great  general 
that  all  the  world  honors  as  the  savior  of  France 
— Marshal  Joffre,  the  Hero  of  the  Marne — needed 
no  one  calling  from  without  to  say,  "Be  strong; 
be  ready !  Your  country  will  need  you  some  day. ' ' 
There  was  a  voice  within  that  was  never  silent 
saying,  "There  is  work  to  be  done.     Be  ready!" 

Joseph  Joffre 's  wide  blue  eyes  were  steady  and 
thoughtful.  "He  never  seems  to  have  time  for 
any  fun,"  complained  one  of  his  school-mates. 

27 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

"You  can't  tell  anything  about  him,"  said  an- 
other. "There  was  never  such  a  fellow  for  hold- 
ing his  tongue!" 

Young  J  off  re  certainly  had  the  habit  of  silence. 
When  a  boy  is  the  oldest  of  eleven  children  and 
knows  that  he  has  been  chosen  from  among  them  all 
to  go  to  a  school  where  officers  for  the  army  are 
trained,  he  knows  that  the  business  of  command- 
ing his  own  days  is  a  serious  matter. 

His  father,  Gilles  Joffre,  was  a  cooper  who  was 
well  known  and  respected  in  that  countryside  of 
southern  France  where  vineyards  cover  every 
sunny  slope.  Years  after  when  one  of  the  wine 
merchants  wished  to  give  the  highest  praise  to 
a  cooper,  he  would  say,  ' '  That  is  a  barrel  as  good 
as  Gilles  Joffre  used  to  make."  It  was  as  if  one 
said  of  a  violin,  "It  is  a  Strad!" 

There  came  a  day  in  1867  when  the  cooper  took 
his  son,  then  an  awkward  lad  of  fifteen,  to  a  school 
in  Paris.  As  he  turned  to  go,  leaving  him  to  the 
new  life  in  the  strange,  big  world,  he  gave  Joseph 
a  long  look.  There  was  every  question  in  his 
eyes.  If  the  boy's  steady  blue  ones  did  not  give 
the  answer  sought,  the  firm  grasp  in  which  he  took 
his  father's  work- worn  hand  was  more  eloquent 
than  any  words  could  have  been. 

28 


THE  HERO  OF  THE  MARNE 

Paris  was  the  gayest  city  iu  all  the  world  at 
that  time  when  the  Emperor,  Napoleon  III,  was 
trying  to  make  his  reign  seem  great  and  splendid 
by  every  sort  of  extravagance  and  display.  It 
was  hard  to  believe  that  the  carefree  days  and  the 
nights  brilliant  with  fetes  could  ever  come  to  an 
end.  Life  was  surely  made  for  enjoyment.  Even 
in  the  school  for  civil  and  military  engineers 
where  Joseph  Joffre  was  a  student  the  holiday 
spirit  often  threatened  to  interfere  with  the  serious 
concerns  of  the  days  of  study.  All  the  glitter  of 
the  gayest  capital  in  Europe  could  not,  however, 
lure  the  cooper's  son  from  his  appointed  tasks. 

There  is  a  story  that  when  he  was  a  very  small 
school-boy  he  had  often  been  knowm  to  build  a 
wall  of  books  about  him  on  his  desk  to  shut  away 
the  merry  faces  of  his  companions  when  they 
threatened  to  be  more  interesting  than  his  arith- 
metic and  drawing.  In  these  days  in  Paris,  how- 
ever, there  was  no  need  of  building  any  sort  of 
material  barricade  about  his  study  table. 

"It  would  have  been  a  bold  fellow  who  w^ould 
have  thought  of  laying  siege  to  Joffre  when  he 
was  intent  on  a  problem.  There  was  something 
about  him  that  made  one  think  of  an  impregnable 
fortress,"  said  a  retired  officer  who  had  been  at 

29 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

the  Polytechnic  when  the  great  general  was  a 
student  there. 

There  came  a  day  when  the  thought  of  the  peo- 
ple of  Paris  turned  as  in  a  moment  from  trifles 
and  business  and  gayety  to  the  forts  about  the 
city.  The  Prussians  were  at  the  gates;  the  gay 
capital  was  plunged  in  all  the  horrors  of  a  siege. 
Joffre,  then  a  lad  of  eighteen,  served  as  junior 
subaltern  in  one  of  the  forts.  He  fought  bravely 
through  the  siege  by  the  side  of  other  brave 
Frenchmen  but  he  had  to  suffer  with  them  the 
grief  of  seeing  his  beloved  country  defeated  and 
forced  to  give  up  her  fair  provinces  of  Alsace 
and  Lorraine  together  with  a  vast  sum  of  money 
to  add  to  the  menacing  power  of  the  enemy. 

Now  the  companions  of  the  silent  hard-working 
subaltern  began  to  see  that  his  devotion  to  long 
mathematical  problems  was  not  without  result. 
A  certain  awe-inspiring  Field-Marshal  stopped 
one  day  before  the  section  of  the  fortifications  that 
had  been  constructed  under  that  quiet  young  offi- 
cer's direction. 

*'I  congratulate  you,  Captain!"  he  exclaimed  in 
a  burst  of  unaccustomed  enthusiasm.  Joffre's 
serious  dreams  had  taken  shape  in  stronger  walls 

30 


THE  HERO  OF  THE  MARNE 

for  Paris,  and  the  young  engineer  of  twenty-four 
had  been  made  a  captain. 

Captain  Joff re  went  on  with  his  work  as  a  builder 
of  defenses,  now  about  Paris,  now  in  the  Pyrenees, 
now  in  Madagascar  or  in  China.  Wherever  his 
country  sent  him  he  pitched  his  tent  and  worked 
upon  her  fortifications  and  entrenchments  as  if 
life  held  nothing  else  for  him. 

**My  brother  was  always  lost  in  thought,"  said 
his  sister.  As  the  child's  play  had  been  lost  in 
the  study  of  the  ambitious  boy,  so  now  the  ambi- 
tions of  the  man  were  lost  in  the  love  of  his  work 
for  its  owTi  sake. 

One  summer  while  spending  a  brief  vacation 
with  his  father,  he  made  a  journey  to  a  famous 
fort  which  he  fell  to  examining  with  the  eager  in- 
terest of  the  expert.  The  corporal  of  the  battery 
viewed  with  angry  concern  the  behavior  of  the 
stranger  in  civilian  dress. 

''He  is  a  German  spy!"  he  exclaimed,  and 
promptly  ordered  his  arrest.  Captain  Joffre,  too 
intent  on  the  problems  that  had  challenged  his 
attention  to  make  any  protest,  suffered  himself 
to  be  led  before  the  officer  in  charge,  where  his 
identity  was  soon  made  evident. 

31 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

"Why  did  you  not  tell  the  corporal  who  you 
■were?"  he  was  asked  on  his  return  home. 

"I  was  thinking  of  the  fort,"  he  replied  simply. 
All  this  time  Joseph  Joffre  was  in  training  for 
his  days  of  generalship,  building  defences  against 
defeat  by  his  thorough  preparedness.  While  he 
planned  fortifications  and  laid  foundations  for 
heavy  guns  that  should  withstand  the  assaults  of 
the  enemies  of  his  country,  he  was  unconsciously 
fortifying  himself  to  meet  emergencies  by  learn- 
ing to  recognize  opportunities  when  they  appeared, 
as  they  so  often  do,  disguised  as  difficulties  and 
failures.  And  his  secret  was  only  that  of  hard 
work.  Some  one  has  said,  ' '  Three-fourths  of  any 
fact  is  the  act  that  is  in  it."  Joffre 's  success  in 
mastering  facts  lay  always  in  his  capacity  for 
instant,  instinctive,  and  untiring  effort. 

Have  you  heard  the  story  of  the  conquest  of 
Timbuktu,  the  mysterious  fortified  city  near  the 
southern  border  of  the  Sahara  desert  which  was 
for  many  years  the  centre  of  the  native  trade  in 
gum,  rubber,  gold  and  ivory  I  But  the  white  men 
of  many  nations  who  braved  the  dangers  of  Cen- 
tral Africa  to  barter  beads,  bright  colored  cloth, 
and  various  articles  of  iron  and  steel  for  these 
products  of  the  land  did  not  dare  to  penetrate  tht 

32 


©  Moefett  Studio 

JOSEPII-JACQUES-CESAIRE  JOFFRE 
Llarshal  of  France 


THE  HERO  OF  THE  MARNE 

country  as  far  as  Timbuktu.  Their  commerce  waa 
at  best  uncertain  and  hazardous. 

The  French  longed  to  plant  a  colony  in  Africa 
that  should  make  trade  safe  so  that  the  people  of 
the  world  might  enjoy  some  of  the  gifts  that  Na- 
ture had  hidden  away  in  the  unexplored  Dark 
Continent.  It  was  certain  that  this  could  be  done 
only  by  conquering  Timbuktu,  the  stronghold  of 
the  hostile,  treacherous  tribes. 

An  expedition  was  put  in  command  of  Colonel 
Bonnier,  a  brilliant,  dashing  officer  who  was  in 
every  way  the  ideal  figure  of  a  conquering  hero. 
He  chose  Commandant  Joffre  to  lead  the  support- 
ing force  of  a  thousand  men  who  were  to  furnish 
reserves  and  bring  along  the  provisions  and  am- 
munition. ''Joffre  is  steady  and  prudent;  we 
know  we  can  depend  on  him,"  said  the  leader. 

There  came  a  day  when  a  hunted  remnant  of 
Colonel  Bonnier 's  men  fled  to  join  Joffre's  small 
band,  j^heir  leader  had  been  overwhelmed  by  a 
sudden  attack  that  found  him  unprepared,  and  he, 
with  eleven  of  his  officers,  had  been  slain.  The 
panic-stricken  survivors  thought  only  of  retreat 
and  escape,  but  Joffre  quietly  took  command  and 
led  a  successful  march  through  desert  waste  and 
jungle,  bristling  with  enemies,  to  Timbuktu.     Out 

33 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

of  a  company  of  a  thousand  men,  two-thirds  of 
whom  were  porters  and  laborers,  together  with 
the  survivors  of  the  first  expedition,  Joffre  or- 
ganized a  fighting  unit  who  forged  ahead  with 
a  morale  that  spelled  success,  ready  at  any  mo- 
ment to  forestall  sudden  assaults  and  to  meet 
the  enemy  in  battle  array.  ''One  may  surprise, 
but  to  be  surprised  is  simply  criminal,"  he  said. 

They  tell  us  that  during  this  time  he  went  for 
days  without  sleep.  One  of  his  eyes,  was,  more- 
over, stung  by  a  poisonous  insect  and  became  ter- 
ribly inflamed,  but  even  that  did  not  compel  him 
to  relax  his  watchfulness. 

"How  can  I  direct  my  troops  blindfolded?" 
cried  Joffre  when  the  doctor  of  the  party  declared 
that  he  might  lose  his  sight  if  he  did  not  wear  a 
bandage. 

"Then  you  must  put  on  blue  glasses,"  ordered 

the  doctor. 

"I  will  when  I  find  a  pair  growing  by  the  way," 
said  Joffre. 

Do  you  believe  that  "there  is  a  Providence  that 
shapes  our  ends,"  or  do  you  prefer  to  think  that 
a  blind  Chance  is  responsible  for  the  wonderful 
things  that  happen!  The  glasses  ivere  found  by 
the  way.    A  package  that  had  been  sent  to  one 

34 


THE  HERO  OF  THE  MARNE 

of  the  oflScers  of  the  party  contained  a  pair  of 
blue  spectacles  which  probably  saved  the  leader's 
brave  blue  eyes  from  total  blindness.  Look  at 
any  good  picture  of  the  Marshal  and  you  will  see 
that  a  film  veils  the  left  eye.  That  tells  the  story 
of  the  injury  and  his  narrow  escape. 

On  February  12,  1894,  Timbuktu,  called  ''the 
mysterious,"  fell  before  Commandant  Joffr-e  who 
was  within  the  month  made  Lieutenant  Colonel. 
All  the  world  knew  that  the  French  flag  was  fly- 
ing over  the  dreaded  stronghold  of  the  fiercest  of 
African  tribes,  but  few  could  have  told  you  any- 
thing about  the  quiet  leader  who  had  turned  defeat 
into  victory.  He  did  not  have  the  dash  that  seizes 
the  fancy  of  the  crowd  and  he  never  talked  about 
himself.     He  was  content  to  let  his  deeds  speak. 

''Well,  Gilles,  is  your  son  a  general?"  the  neigh- 
bors would  say  to  the  old  cooper. 

"No,  but  he  's  a  colonel,"  was  the  staunch  reply. 

Then,  one  day  in  1901,  the  little  town  of  Rivesal- 
tes  could  say  with  the  proud  cooper,  "My  son  is 
a  general!" 

He  was  not  a  "big,  brass  general"  whose  glitter 
of  uniform  and  important  manner  blared  out  "See 
the  conquering  hero  comes!"  whenever  he  ap- 
peared.    The  humble  neighbors  of  that  town  in 

35 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

the  Pyrenees  who  knew  how  to  judge  the  simple, 
enduring  things  of  life — the  ways  of  the  ripening 
harvest,  the  coming  of  autumn  to  the  mountains, 
and  the  power  of  hard-working  men  to  toil  on, 
trusting  that  the  future  would  reward  faithful 
effort — felt  that  this  leader,  who  went  on  as  quietly 
with  his  studies  as  he  had  when  a  subaltern,  would 
be  a  commander  that  the  country  could  trust  in 
its  hour  of  need.  It  was  one  such  unlettered  but 
understanding  man,  a  sergeant  who  had  served 
under  Joffre  in  the  Far  East,  who  said  at  the 
time  that  General  Joffre  was  made  Commander- 
in-Chief  of  the  French  army,  *'When  Joffre  is  in 
command  there  is  no  need  to  worry.  Success  is 
assured.  That  man  Joffre  is  a  veritable  wolf- 
trap  for  the  enemy." 

What  would  have  supported  the  people  of 
France  through  the  terrible  days  of  September, 
1914,  when  the  German  army  was  sweeping  on 
towards  Paris  and  Joffre 's  forces  were  falling 
back  in  retreat  if  they  had  not  had  this  faith, 
firm  but  silent,  in  "the  man  who  never  spoke," 
as  the  quiet  General  was  often  called? 

Those  were  days  of  cruel  suspense  when  the 
French  army  was  day  by  day  giving  ground, 
precious  soil  of  France,  to  the  mercy  of  the  in- 

36 


THE  HERO  OF  THE  MARXE 

vader.  Think  of  the  distress  of  the  people  in  the 
towns  and  villages  whose  homes  were  destroyed 
by  cannon.  Picture  the  anxiety  of  the  people  of 
Paris,  of  all  those  who  could  do  nothing  but  wait 
and  hope.  Can  you  imagine  the  suspense  of  the 
army,  Joffre's  own  soldiers,  when  day  after  day 
the  order  came  to  retreat,  still  to  retreat? 

Those  who  saw  General  Joffre  in  those  days 
knew  as  they  met  his  deep,  steady  gaze  that  he 
felt  the  distress  of  all  the  people  as  his  own,  but 
his  look  of  quiet  power  was  unchanged.  In  reply 
to  the  question  of  one  of  his  staff  he  said  in  his 
customary  calm,  even  tones: 

"I  mean  to  deliver  the  big  battle  in  the  most 
favorable  conditions,  at  my  own  time  and  on  the 
ground  I  have  chosen.  If  necessary,  I  shall  con- 
tinue to  retreat.  I  shall  bide  my  time.  No  con- 
sideration whatever  will  make  me  alter  my  plans." 

It  seemed  that  the  strength  and  confidence  of 
the  leader  were  communicated  as  the  very  breath 
of  power  to  his  men.  They  kept  their  faith  in 
their  general  and  in  victory  in  the  midst  of  ap- 
parent defeat.  ''Papa  Joffre"  would  never  fail 
them. 

At  last  the  moment  came  for  which  Joffre  had 
been  planning.     He  had  by  his  retreat  led  the 

37 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

German  armies  too  far  ahead  of  their  supply  bases. 
All  eagerness  for  the  final  stroke  they  bounded 
forward,  each  command  striving  to  be  the  first 
to  enter  Paris.  They  forgot  tliat ' '  an  army  moves 
on  its  stomach,"  and  that  guns  without  ammuni- 
tion are  so  many  straws.  They  thought  that 
nothing  could  hold  back  their  invincible  troops. 
Joif re 's  day  had  dawned.  He  knew  that  the  Ger- 
mans were  weary  from  the  long  marches,  that 
they  were  sustained  only  by  the  intoxication  of 
success.  He  knew  that  his  million  men,  unpre- 
pared and  unorganized  as  compared  with  the  mil- 
lion and  a  half  soldiers  of  the  Kaiser,  were  yet  in 
a  position  to  strike  with  confidence  in  the  victory. 

On  the  morning  of  September  5,  1914,  the  word 
was  sent  along  the  ' '  far-flung  battle-line ' '  that  the 
retreat  was  at  an  end.  All  was  busy,  determined 
preparation  for  the  great  battle  for  which  they 
had  waited  and  prayed.  Everyvrhere  along  the 
front  was  read  the  Order  of  the  Day,  and  it  was 
as  if  leader  and  men  were  clasping  hands  in 
mutual  understanding  and  solemn  pledge. 

*'At  the  moment  of  engaging  a  battle  on  which 
the  fate  of  the  country  hangs,  it  is  necessary  to 
remind  every  one  that  the  time  has  passed  for 
looking  backward.     Every  effort  must  be  made  to 

38 


THE  HERO  OF  THE  MARXE 

attack  and  to  drive  back  the  enemy.  The  hour 
has  come  to  advance  at  any  cost,  and  to  die  where 
you  stand  rather  than  give  way." 

For  four  days  and  nights  the  battle  raged.  Try 
to  picture  the  scenes  along  the  front.  Battalion 
after  battalion  of  picked  German  troops  were 
thrust  forward  in  close  formation  as  if  sheer  head- 
long force  must  win  everywhere.  Then  see  the 
ranks  mowed  down  by  the  French  machine  guns 
and  cannon  and  the  rifles  of  men  who  were  fighting 
that  their  beloved  France  might  live.  When,  on 
the  evening  of  September  9,  the  Kaiser  was  com- 
pelled to  sign  the  order  for  a  general  retreat  of 
his  armies,  the  Battle  of  the  Marne  had  been  won 
and  the  hope  of  Germany  that  Paris  could  be 
taken  and  the  French  conquered  by  an  irresistible 
onslaught  before  the  surprised  nations  had  chance 
to  pull  themselves  together  for  proper  defense, 
was  dashed  to  the  ground.  The  turning-point  had 
come  and  the  tide  had  changed.  The  Battle  of 
the  Marne  will  forever  rank  among  the  great  de- 
cisive battles  of  the  world. 

Picture  the  people  of  Paris  who  had  been  wait- 
ing breathless  for  Joffre's  hour.  There  were  the 
old  men  who  could  do  nothing  but  hope  and  pray, 
leaving  the  battle  to  the  young  men  at  the  front. 

39 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

There  were  the  women  taking  up  quietly  the  work 
of  their  husbands  and  brothers,  while  their  hearts 
were  hushed  in  the  suspense  of  longing  for  news 
of  their  loved  ones  and  the  triumph  of  France. 
There  were  children  looking  up  to  the  white  faces 
of  their  mothers  in  wonder  and  dumb  questioning. 
— What  had  suddenly  happened  to  the  world  of 
sunshine  and  happy  work  and  play? 

A  woman  wearing  black  for  her  only  son  had 
been  kneeling  with  two  little  girls  in  the  church 
of  the  Madeleine.  As  she  came  out  on  the  portico 
she  pushed  back  her  veil  and  looked  about  her 
as  if  she  were  gazing  into  the  face  of  a  friend  from 
whom  she  feared  to  be  forever  parted.  There  was 
love  and  prayer  in  her  eyes,  but  also  a  great  sor- 
row. At  that  moment  a  small  boy  slipped  into 
her  hand  a  bit  of  folded  paper  on  which  was  writ- 
ten, "We  must  not  despair;  France  cannot  be 
beaten."  It  seemed  to  her  that  the  words  rang 
out  in  the  clear,  strong  tones  of  her  son — her 
brave  Jean.  Quickly  she  turned  to  the  lad,  her 
face  alight  now  with  hope  and  courage.  She 
learned  that  he  and  his  mother  had  been  busy  for 
two  dnys  and  nights  in  their  poor  garret  writing 
hundreds  of  such  messages  to  carry  a  word  of 

40 


THE  HERO  OF  THE  MARXE 

confidence  to  anxious  people  during  that  time  of 
trial. 

'*We  must  win  while  General  Joffre  leads  our 
brave  army  and  while  Paris  has  such  true  hearts 
among  those  who  wait  at  home,"  she  said.  And 
it  seemed  to  the  boy  that  the  smile  of  that  sad 
mother  and  the  ring  of  triumph  in  her  voice  would 
always  stay  in  his  memory. 

In  a  few  days  the  faith  of  the  people  in  their 
leader  and  in  the  destiny  of  France  was  justified. 
All  the  world  was  talking  of  the  miracle  of  the 
great  victory  and  sounding  the  praises  of  General 
Joffre,  the  Hero  of  the  Marne. 

When  people  spoke  to  Joffre  of  his  triumph  he 
said  quietly,  *'It  is  not  the  commanding  generals 
who  win  the  battles.  It  is  rather  the  colonels  and 
even  the  simple  captains.  When  the  fighting  front 
extends  over  some  five  hundred  or  six  hundred 
miles  the  will  of  one  man  cannot  be  felt  every- 
where, for  there  is  but  little  opportunity  for  new 
combinations  and  surprises.  The  role  of  com- 
manding general  all  but  comes  to  an  end  the  mo- 
ment he  has  gathered  at  a  desired  point  in  battle 
line  the  forces  that  he  sees  are  needed.  The  role 
of  the  colonels  and  captains  begin  when  the  first 

41 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

shot  is  fired.  They  decide  the  result  of  the 
struggle.  The  troops  that  win  are  those  that  have 
the  faith  and  courage  to  hold  out  longest — that 
prove  superior  in  endurance,  in  energy,  and  in 
confidence  in  the  final  victory." 

People  marvelled  that  Joffre  was  so  unspoiled. 
**He  never  fails  to  give  the  other  officers  and  the 
men  in  the  ranks  their  share  of  the  credit,"  said 
a  man  in  blue  to  a  companion  in  khaki.  "Our 
army  is  like  one  big  family.  Those  Boche  cap- 
tains who  drive  their  men  into  battle  with  blows 
of  their  swords  should  see  how  our  men  rush 
forward  at  a  word.  We  would  trust  *  Papa  Joffre ' 
through  everything." 

*'Papa  Joffre"  seemed  to  have  no  ambition. 
"When  another  might  have  sought  to  keep  the 
leader's  power  and  place,  he  saw  that  the  other 
generals — Petain  and  Foch — should  have  their 
turn  at  the  command. 

**They  will  come  with  fresh  power  to  the  great 
task,"  he  said.  "France  needs  the  best  that  all 
her  sons  can  bring." 

General  Joffre  was  given  the  highest  honor  that 
his  country  could  confer;  he  was  made  Marshal 
of  France.  But  still  the  son  of  the  cooper  of 
Rivesaltes  was  untouched  by  ambition.    His  fond- 


THE  HERO  OF  THE  MARNE 

est  dream  was  to  be  allowed  to  retire  after  his 
years  of  service  to  his  quiet  home  in  the  Pyrenees. 
'^The  battle  must  be  taken  up  by  younger  men," 
he  said.  "I  shall  perhaps  have  earned  my  days 
of  rest." 

''The  Battle  of  the  Marne  was  the  first  great 
triumph  of  the  World  War,  and  the  coming  of 
America  into  the  struggle  was  the  second,"  said 
a  great  Frenchman.  It  was  fitting,  therefore,  that 
Marshal  Joffre  should  have  been  chosen  to  come 
to  America  to  speak  for  France  to  her  new  ally. 

The  welcome  given  to  the  Hero  of  the  Marne 
can  only  be  compared  to  the  enthusiastic  recep- 
tion accorded  Lafayette  on  his  second  visit  to 
the  United  States.  Those  who  saw  him  as  he 
stood  at  salute  before  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  or 
as  he  turned  to  greet  the  throngs  of  cheering 
school  children,  knew  that  the  hero  of  the  Marne 
was  indeed  a  great  man,  true,  brave,  and  single- 
minded  in  his  devotion  to  his  country  and  in  his 
forgetfulness  of  self. 

*'Your  cordial  welcome  moves  me  deeply,"  he 
said,  "because  I  know  it  is  homage  paid  to  the 
whole  French  army  which  I  represent  here." 

I  like  to  picture  the  general  who  saved  France 
at  Mount  Vernon  where  he  went  to  place  a  bronze 

43 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

wreath  upon  the  tomb  of  the  general  who  won 
liberty  for  the  United  States.  "In  the  French 
army  all  venerate  the  name  and  memory  of  Wash- 
ington," he  said.  "I  respectfully  salute  here  the 
great  soldier  and  lay  upon  his  tomb  the  palm  we 
offer  to  our  soldiers  who  have  died  for  their  coun- 
try." 

After  returning  to  France,  Marshal  Joffre  was 
frequently  seen  in  company  with  General  Persh- 
ing, for  whom  he  expressed  warm  admiration. 
All  that  his  experience  had  gained  in  the  three 
years  of  fighting  was  put  at  the  service  of  the 
American  leader.  "Papa  Joffre"  became  known 
as  the  "godfather  of  the  American  army." 

Not  long  since  I  saw  a  boy  who  had  been  one 
of  those  to  give  a  good  account  of  himself  at 
Chateau-Thierry.  "We'd  be  pretty  poor  stuff  if 
we  fell  down  on  the  job,  we  fellows  who  had  Mar- 
shal Joffre  for  godfather,"  he  said  with  a  smile 
that  took  no  account  of  his  empty  sleeve. 

And  so  the  spirit  of  the  Hero  of  the  Marne 
marched  on  winning  other  victories  for  freedom. 


44 


THE  CHEVALIER  OF  FLIGHT: 
CAPTAIN  GUYNEMER 


A  hero  of  legendary  power,  he  fell  in  the  wide  heaven  of 
glory,  after  three  years  of  hard  fighting.  He  will  long  remain 
the  purest  symbol  of  the  qualities  of  the  race:  indomitable  in 
tenacity,  enthusiastic  in  energy,  sublime  in  courage.  Animated 
with  mextinguishable  faith  in  victory,  he  bequeaths  to  the 
French  soldier  the  imperishable  remembrance  which  will  exalt 
the  spirit  of  sacrifice  and  the  most  noble  emulation. 

Inscription  to  Guynemeb  in  the  Pantheon. 


THE  CHEVALIER  OF  FLIGHT 

OF  all  the  heroes  of  the  World  War,  Georges 
Guynemer,  the  ''gallant  flying  boy"  of 
France,  most  appeals  to  the  imagination.  "A 
hero  of  legendary  power,  he  fell  in  the  wide  heaven 
of  glory  after  three  years  of  hard  fighting"  reads 
the  inscription  set  up  in  his  memory  in  the  Pan- 
theon, that  classic  Hall  of  Heroes  in  Paris.  The 
very  sound  of  his  name  enkindles  ardor  and  stirs 
the  heart.  He  has  been  called  "the  knight  of  the 
air,"  ''the  winged  sword  of  France,"  and  the 
story  of  his  miraculous  exploits  is  already  linked 
with  that  of  Joan  of  Arc.  Like  her,  he  seems  to 
stand  for  the  eager,  unquenchable  spirit  of  France. 

He  was  born  on  Christmas  Eve,  1894.  "I  lead 
a  charmed  life,"  he  used  to  say  laughingly  when 
his  companions  protested  that  he  took  too  many 
risks.  "You  see  it  is  not  easy  to  hurt  a  chap 
who  was  born  on  Christmas  Eve!" 

He  was  a  child  of  frail  body  and  indomitable 
will.     It  was  as  if  Fate   sought  to  prove   once 

47 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

and  for  all  that  spirit  was  master — that  soul 
could  conquer  in  spite  of  every  physical  handi- 
cap. See  the  picture  of  him,  a  lad  of  twelve, 
among  his  mates  at  school.  He  is  slighter  and 
paler  than  them  all,  but  his  dark  eyes  burn  with 
an  intense  fire  that  defies  all  restraint,  all  fetter- 
ing bonds  of  bodily  limitation,  and  even,  we  can 
fancy,  knowing  the  story  of  the  triumph  of  his 
brief  life,  the  mortal  exactions  of  Time  and 
Space.  .  .  . 

As  a  tiny  lad,  he  knew  that  his  parents  had 
grave  concern  because  of  his  health.  There  were 
many  consultations  with  physicians;  there  were 
journeys  in  search  of  health  and  strength.  His 
education  began  at  home  under  the  governess  of 
his  two  sisters. 

"No  doubt  it  is  best,"  complained  his  father, 
a  retired  army  officer,  whose  fondest  dream  it 
was  that  his  only  son  should  win  a  place  among 
those  who  serve  their  country,  "but  it  looks  as  if 
we  may  have  one  petticoat  too  many  in  the 
family." 

There  were  walks  with  the  father,  and  many 
long  talks  about  the  glories  of  the  past  that  their 
town  of  Compeigne  had  shared.  The  chief  nthu- 
siasm  of  Guynemer  pere  was  history,  and  there 

48 


THE  CHEVALIER  OF  FLIGHT 

was  not  one  of  the  streets  where  they  walked  but 
could  furnish  a  text.  Kings  had  been  consecrated 
there;  kings  had  died  there.  Treaties  that 
changed  the  destiny  of  nations  had  been  signed 
there.  Louis  the  Grand  and  the  great  Napoleon 
had  given  splendid  fetes  there.  .  .  .  But  every 
walk  to  the  palace,  the  abbey,  or  to  the  forest,  was 
somehow  incomplete  if  they  did  not  go  by  the 
open  square  of  the  Hotel-de-ville,  where  a  maiden 
in  armor  stood  lifting  the  standard  of  France  to 
the  sky. 

''Who  is  she?"  asked  the  child. 

''Jeanne  d'Arc." 

Again  and  again  he  stood  there  gazing  at  the 
figure  of  the  young  girl  who  had  led  the  armies 
of  her  country  to  victory  and  crowned  her  king, 
as  he  demanded  to  hear  yet  again  about  the  miracle 
of  her  short  life.  It  appeared  that  history  was 
not  all  made  by  the  wise  and  prudent  like  his 
father,  but  that  children,  too,  had  been  able  to  do 
glorious  things.  Something  seemed  to  draw  him 
to  that  bronze  maiden,  who  stood  there  straight 
as  a  sword,  bearing  her  banner  aloft.  His  heart 
burned  within  him,  and  a  whisper  came  that  guided 
all  his  days. 

"It  is  not  how  long  we  live  that  matters,  but 

^9 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

how  and  what  we  live.  Life  is  not  measured  by 
the  clock,  but  by  noble  heart-beats  and  brave 
deeds."  .  .  .  The  thought  became  clearer  each 
time  he  stopped  before  the  statue  of  the  Maid. 
Surely  she  had  lived  as  much  for  herself  and  the 
world  as  any  one,  no  matter  how  many  years  and 
honors  he  might  have  to  his  credit. 

When  his  father  told  him  the  stories  of  his  own 
people — how  there  was  a  Guynemer  among  those 
about  whom  the  poet  sang  in  the  "Song  of  Ro- 
land," that  men  of  that  name  had  been  among 
those  who  fared  forth  on  tlie  Crusades,  and  that 
ever  since,  his  forbears  had  been  men  who  had 
served  their  country  gallantly,  keeping  the  honor 
of  their  fine,  old  family  bright,  again  the  whisper 
came,  *'It  is  not  how  long  they  lived  that  counts. 
Who  cares  to  know  the  age  of  a  Roland?  The 
memory  of  glorious  deeds  alone  remains." 

At  the  age  of  twelve,  little  Georges  Guynemer 
entered  Stanislas  College  at  Compeigne  as  a  day 
pupil.  They  tell  us  that  he  was  no  book-worm 
— that  he  was  too  "tameless  and  swift  and  proud" 
to  be  held  down  by  routine  exercises.  His  quick- 
ness of  intelligence  and  ready  wit  were  recognized, 
and  his  "ambition  of  the  first  rank."  At  the 
€nd  of  the  first  year,  Georges  had  won  first  prize 

50 


THE  CHEVALIER  OF  FLIGHT 

in  arithmetic,  but  it  was  ou  the  playground  in 
games  that  demanded  agility  and  daring  that  the 
slight  boy  most  distinguished  himself. 

One  game  known  as  la  petite  guerre  delighted 
the  boy  above  everythmg  else.  The  group  of  boys 
was  divided  into  two  armies,  each  commanded  by 
a  general  chosen  by  themselves.  All  the  soldio/s 
strove  to  defend  bands  of  color  which  they  wore 
as  armlets,  and  also  to  preserve  from  capture 
flags  which  floated  from  a  wall,  tree,  or  some  other 
selected  spot.  A  boy  whose  armlet  was  seized 
was  hors  de  combat — a  dead  soldier.  It  is  in- 
teresting to  note  that  the  boy  who  was  most  lack- 
ing in  physical  strength  was  a  leader  in  this  game. 
His  energy,  quickness  of  eye  and  wit,  as  well  as 
his  darting  swiftness  of  movement  and  daring 
originality  of  attack,  won  for  him  first  place.  But 
it  is  to  be  noted  also  that  he  was  never  chosen 
general.  His  gifts  were  too  much  needed  in  the 
ranks  of  those  who  fought,  and  besides,  he  loved 
the  struggle  for  its  own  sake.  How  he  delighted 
in  attacking  the  strongest  and  the  most  distin- 
guished scholars  of  them  all,  conquering  by  a  sud- 
den turn  l)efore  the  other  could  tell  what  was 
happening; — and  then  the  triumph  of  bearing  the 
trophies  to  his  general!    He  had  no  desire  for 

51 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

leadership  that  would  give  him  a  role  apart  and 
aloof,  leaving  to  others  the  chances  and  thrills 
that  belong  to  the  heat  of  the  fray.  So  Georges 
Guynemer  was  always  simple  soldat. 

We  have  here  an  astonishing  likeness  of  the 
youth,  who,  a  few  years  later,  was  chief  among 
all  his  country's  brave  knights  of  the  air,  the 
ace  of  aces  who  had  fifty-four  aeroplanes  and 
two  hundred  and  fifteen  combats  to  his  credit. 
He  cared  too  much  for  the  fight  to  wish  to  com- 
mand. He  was  the  knight  of  solitary  combat, 
preferring  even  to  go  alone  in  his  machine,  which 
he  controlled  with  his  feet  and  one  hand  while 
he  fired  his  gun  with  the  other.  He  attacked 
always  the  strongest,  daunted  neither  by  the  num- 
ber nor  prowess  of  his  antagonists.  His  quick- 
ness and  unexpectedness  of  attack  were  un- 
equalled. As  if  to  show  that  life  did  not  depend 
upon  brawn  or  upon  any  virtue  of  physique  alone, 
he  conquered  in  spite  of  his  frail  body,  proving 
that  the  will  to  do  can  triumph  over  every  ob- 
stacle and  overthrow  the  strongest. 

Notwithstanding  periods  of  enforced  retirement 
from  his  studies  to  the  infirmary,  or  to  his  home 
for  a  prolonged  rest  of  two  or  three  months,  he 
succeeded  in  keeping  abreast  of  his  class  and  in 

52 


THE  CHEVALIER  OF  FLIGHT 

graduating  at  the  age  of  fifteen.  The  next  autumn 
he  returned  to  go  on  with  his  studies  in  prepara- 
tion for  the  Polytechnic,  specializing  in  mathe- 
matics and  physics.  At  the  same  time  his  native 
interest  in  mechanics  engaged  not  only  most  of 
his  spare  time  but  also  many  hours  stolen  from 
his  regular  tasks.  His  room  was  a  veritable 
curiosity  shop,  where  coils  of  wire,  wheels,  chemi- 
cals, batteries,  and  all  sorts  of  mechanical  odds 
and  ends  were  jumbled  together  with  note-books, 
staid  texts,  and  articles  of  clothing. 

His  spirit  of  invention  which  had  shown  itself 
when  he  was  a  child  of  four  or  five,  now  came 
into  play  in  constructing  a  telephone  that  should 
put  him  in  quick  communication  with  a  friend  in 
a  distant  part  of  the  building.  He  developed 
a  passion  for  experimentation  in  physics  and 
chemistry. 

"He  was  absorbed  for  hours  at  a  time,"  said 
Lieutenant  Constantin,  a  comrade  at  Stanislas, 
"in  working  over  problems  in  mathematics  or 
mechanics,  without  giving  a  thought  to  what  went 
on  around.  When  he  had  solved  the  problem  that 
challenged  him  or  had  succeeded  in  discovering 
something  new,  he  would  return  satisfied  to  the 
affairs  of  the  moment." 

53 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

A  friendship  made  during  these  days  at  school 
had  a  great  influence  on  the  particular  develop- 
ment of  his  interests.  Jean  Krebs,  son  of  the 
manager  of  the  Panhard  motor  car  factory — that 
Colonel  Krebs  whose  name  is  associated  with  the 
early  progress  in  the  production  of  aerial  motors 
— became  young  Guynemer's  constant  companion. 
The  workshop  of  his  room  or  even  the  college 
laboratory  was  too  narrow  now.  His  real  school 
was  the  motor  factory,  where  he  eagerly  mastered 
the  fascinating  details  of  workmanship  and  man- 
agement of  the  various  engines  and  mechanical 
contrivances. 

One  day  during  the  last  year  of  preparation 
for  the  Polytechnic,  his  father  carried  him  off 
for  a  much-needed  rest  to  his  grandmother's  in 
Paris,  after  which  he  spent  some  weeks  in  travel 
with  his  mother  and  sisters.  Then,  one  day,  his 
father  drew  him  apart  for  a  serious  talk. 

"You  have  had,  my  son,  your  years  of  prepara- 
tory study,  and  some  leisure  to  think  of  the  fu- 
ture.   What  profession  do  you  plan  to  follow?" 

Without  a  moment's  pause  or  change  of  expres- 
sion, as  if  he  were  not  aware  of  saying  something 
extraordinary,  Georges  replied,  ** Aviator." 

"But  that  is  not  a  profession,"  said  the  amazed 

54 


THE  CHEVALIER  OF  FLIGHT 

father.  ' '  That  is  only  a  sport.  You  run  through 
the  air  as  an  automobilist  chases  along  the  high- 
ways of  the  country.  Then  after  spending  your 
best  years  in  the  pursuit  of  pleasure,  where  are 
you  ? ' ' 

Then  Georges  told  his  father  what  he  had  not 
breathed  before  to  a  living  soul,  not  even  his 
friend,  Constantin,  or  Jean  Krebs.  "I  have  no 
other  passion.  One  morning  from  the  quadrangle 
of  the  college  I  saw  an  aviator  fly  over  high  in 
the  air.  I  cannot  explain  what  happened,  but 
something  new  took  possession  of  me.  I  felt  a 
deeper  emotion  than  I  have  ever  known  before, 
a  feeling  almost  religious.  You  must  trust  me, 
my  father,  when  I  beg  you  to  let  me  go  with  the 
aeroplanes." 

"You  do  not  know  what  it  is  that  you  ask,  my 
boy,"  replied  the  father,  moved  by  his  son's  ex- 
traordinary earnestness.  **You  have  no  knowl- 
edge of  a  flying  machine  except  from  below.  It 
is  a  far-away  romance  to  you." 

*'You  are  wrong,"  replied  Georges,  ''I  have 
been  up  in  one  at  Corbeaulieu."  Corbeaulieu  was 
an  aerodrome  not  far  from  Compeigne. 

A  few  months  later,  in  July,  1914,  the  Gu\Tiemers 
were  at  Biarritz.    Much  had  happened  in  the  in- 

55 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

tervening  weeks.  Georges  had  been  denied  ad- 
mission to  the  Polytechnic  because  of  his  frail 
health.  ' '  He  will  not  live  to  complete  the  course, ' ' 
declared  the  examining  professors.  It  was  the 
first  real  disappointment  of  the  boy's  life — the 
first  closed  door.  Heretofore  he  had  not  felt  that 
his  weak  body  was  a  particular  handicap;  his 
spirit  had  risen  triumphant  over  every  limitation. 
But  now  it  appeared  that  others  had  the  power  to 
rule  for  him,  and  to  prevent  his  entering  the  life 
he  felt  must  be  his. 

To  Biarritz  they  went  for  the  mellow  sunshine 
and  soft  sea  breezes  of  the  famous  resort.  Surely 
such  golden  days  would  bring  health  and  strength. 
There  were,  however,  other  possibilities  besides 
loitering  on  the  sands  and  bathing  at  Biarritz. 
The  beach  made  a  fine  landing-place  for  aero- 
planes. It  was  not  accident,  you  may  be  sure,  that 
brought  young  Guynemer  to  the  spot  when  one  of 
the  great  birds  swept  down  to  earth.  He  exam- 
ined the  motor  and  every  detail  of  the  machine; 
he  talked  to  the  pilot.  He  never  doubted  that 
he  was  born  to  fly ! 

But  then,  as  in  a  day,  the  gay  world  of  study 
and  adventure  was  changed.  A  heavy  cloud  ob- 
scured the  sunshine  even  at  Biarritz.    His  coun- 

56 


THE  CHEVALIER  OF  FLIGHT 

try  was  plunged  in  war.  In  a  moment  former 
dreams  and  longings  passed  away  with  the  sun- 
shine. Even  flying  was  forgotten  as  something 
unreal  and  far  away.  Georges  stood  before  his 
father,  breathless  with  suspense. 

"I  must  enlist,"  he  said. 

''It  is  your  right,"  rejjlied  the  ex-captain,  look- 
ing at  his  son  proudly. 

"You  will  i)ormit — " 

"I  envy  you,"  was  the  firm  answer. 

But  again  a  closed  door !  Three  times  the  youth 
presented  himself,  and  three  times  he  was  refused. 
They  could  not  see  beyond  the  slight  form  and 
the  delicate  chest,  and  recognize  the  spirit  that 
would  push  on  and  triumph  in  real  warfare  for 
his  country,  as  the  frail  child  had  overcome  the 
strongest  at  school  in  the  game  of  war.  He  felt 
that  life  held  nothing  for  him;  it  seemed  that  he 
was  helpless  to  lift  himself  out  of  the  slough  of 
despond. 

Then,  one  day,  a  glimpse  of  his  old  friend,  the 
gallant  Maid  who  stood  as  ever,  holding  aloft  the 
standard  of  her  country,  quickened  his  spirit. 
She,  too,  had  known  the  torture  of  feeling  herself 
held  back  when  all  her  soul  was  urging  her  for- 
ward, but  she  had  kept  on  and  saved  France.    It 

57 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

was  not  always  by  strength  and  might  that  des- 
tiny was  shaped.  .  .  .  Some  solemn  words  that  he 
had  heard  chanted  in  church  rang  in  his  ears  now 
with  new  meaning: 

He  bath  put  down  the  mighty — 

And  hath  exalted  the  humble  and  meek. — 

Was  not  Joan  of  Arc  an  eternal  witness  to  the 
truth  of  those  words? 

As  in  a  flash  he  saw  what  he  could  do.  His 
old  dreams  revived  in  a  new  guise,  and  he  saw 
the  path  ahead.  He  was  on  the  sand  when  an 
aeroplane  came  to  earth  that  day,  and  he  talked 
earnestly  for  a  moment  with  the  sergeant-pilot. 

''How  does  one  enlist  in  the  aviation  service?'* 
he  asked. 

"See  the  Captain  at  Pau,"  was  the  reply. 

The  boy's  parents  hardly  recognized  him  when 
he  next  appeared,  his  face  alight  with  life  and 
hope.  Surely  the  doctors  were  mistaken ;  he  must 
get  well.  It  was  unthinkable  that  such  youth  and 
fire  should  be  so  soon  extinguished. 

*'Mon  pere,  I  must  go  to  Pau  to-morrow,"  he 
declared  without  preamble,  "to  enlist  as  an  avia- 
tor.   Before  the  war  you  would  not  listen,  but 

58 


THE  CHEVALIER  OF  FLIGHT 

now  you  see  that  aviation  is  more  than  a  sport." 

And  the  hid  had  his  wish.  On  the  morrow 
he  presented  himself  before  Captain  Bernard- 
Thierry,  who  was  in  command  of  the  aviation  camp 
at  Pau.  It  seemed  as  if  his  heart  would  burst, 
and  the  eager  words  fairly  tripped  over  each 
other. 

"My  Captain,  do  me  but  this  favor.  Take  me 
in !  Employ  me  at  anything  at  all,  even  cleaning 
the  machines.  You  are  my  last  chance.  Let  it 
be  through  you  that  I  am  permitted  to  do  some- 
thing in  this  war." 

The  Captain  looked  at  the  slender  boy  with  the 
burning  eyes  and  flushed  cheeks.  He  saw  more 
than  the  slight  form;  he  divined  something  of 
the  power  of  the  spirit  within.  He  was  a  man 
who  believed  that  the  soul  is  master  of  the  frame 
in  which  it  dwells. 

*'I  can  take  you  as  pupil-mechanic,"  he  said. 

Gujaiemer  drew  a  long  sigh.  This  door  at  least 
was  not  shut.  ''Good!"  he  exulted.  "I  have 
some  knowledge  of  motors." 

That  was  in  November,  1914.  After  two  months 
as  mechanic  he  had  won  a  place  among  the  ranks 
of  student  aviators,  and  on  February  first  he  made 

59 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

his  trial  trip  aloft  as  pilot.  "I  began  in  a  Haxi'  " 
he  said,  "and  then  the  following  week  I  mounted 
an  airplane,  going  in  straight  lines,  turning  and 
gliding;  and  on  March  10  I  made  two  flights  last- 
ing twenty  minutes.  At  last  I  had  found  my 
wings;  I  passed  the  examination  next  day." 

We  are  told  that  Guynemer's  ambitious  spirit 
almost  proved  his  undoing  at  the  very  beginning 
of  his  career.  The  head  pilot  complained  that 
he  was  too  rash,  venturing  out  in  contrary  weather 
and  essaying  turns  that  were  far  too  difficult  for 
one  of  his  small  experience.  Guynemer  always 
shivered  slightly  when  he  spoke  of  how  narrowly 
he  had  escaped  being  dropped  from  the  list  of 
military  aviators. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  master  pilot  and  all 
the  rest  of  the  camp  knew  that  the  youth  they 
had  so  nearly  lost  was  the  leader  of  them  all — 
an  eagle  among  the  birds  of  the  air.  Though  his 
daring  attacks  seemed  to  take  no  account  of  risks, 
he  returned  victorious  from  every  encounter.  As 
the  boy  at  school  in  the  game  of  war  had  always 
sought  to  vanquish  the  strongest,  so  now  the  young 
eagle  always  marked  the  flight  of  the  first  among 
the  enemy  planes  and  strove  to  bring  those  to 
the  ground.    Before  three ^  weeks  had  passed,  he 

60 


THE  CHEVALIER  OF  FLIGHT 

had  brought  his  fifth  Boche  plane  to  the  earth, 
thus  becoming  an  ace. 

The  splendid  abandon  and  sublime  courage  of 
his  adventures  in  the  air  won  the  adoring  admira- 
tion of  all  his  comrades,  and  accounts  of  his  ex- 
ploits were  passed  eagerly  from  mouth  to  mouth. 
The  story  of  the  combat  of  September  29,  1916, 
moved  all  France,  and  the  young  aviator  awoke  to 
find  himself  the  hero  of  the  hour.  Seeing  one 
of  his  comrades  attacked  by  five  enemy  planes, 
he  mounted  to  the  rescue.  At  a  height  of  10,000 
feet,  he  shot  and  sent  to  earth  two  within  thirty 
seconds  of  each  other.  The  others  tried  to  escape, 
but  pursuing,  he  brought  down  a  third  in  two 
minutes.  Then — a  mischief! — a  shell  exploded 
under  his  machine  tearing  off  one  of  the  wings 
of  the  noble  bird.  Down  he  fell  into  No  Man's 
Land  where  in  an  instant  he  was  seen  rising  from 
the  wreck.  The  enemy  opened  up  a  diabolical 
machine  gun  fire  to  prevent  his  escape,  but  with 
a  mighty  shout  the  French  surged  "over  the  top" 
and  succeeded  in  effecting  a  rescue.  That  was 
the  occasion  that  won  for  Guynemer  the  rank 
of  lieutenant,  and  the  decoration  of  the  croix  de 
guerre. 

Let  us  read  one  of  the  brief  entries  in  his  diary, 

61 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

for  January  26,  1917.  He  has  been  attacking  a 
Boche  plane  in  his  best  manner  by  descending  on 
it  from  above,  when  his  gun  becomes  disabled. 

I  try  to  bluff.  I  mount  to  2000  feet  over  bim  and  drop  onto 
him  like  a  stone.  J'or  a  moment  1  tbink  tliat  was  witliuut 
effect  when  he  begins  to  descend.  I  jjut  myself  ten  yards  be- 
hind him,  but  every  time  I  showed  my  nose  around  the  edge 
of  his  tail  the  gunner  took  aim  at  me. 

We  take  the  road  towards  Compeigne — 3000  feet — 2000  feet 
— again  I  show  my  nose  and  this  time  the  gunner  lets  go  his 
machine  gun  and  motions  to  me  that  he  surrenders.  All 
right! 

I  see  four  bombs  stowed  away  under  his  machine.  1500 
feet.  The  Boche  slows  down  his  windmill.  I  swerve  over  him 
while  he  lands,  but  not  having  any  gun  or  ammunition  I  can- 
not prevent  the  Boches  from  setting  fire  to  their  taxi,  a  200 
H.  P.  Albatros,  magnificent.  When  I  see  that  they  are  safely 
surrounded  I  come  down  and  show  the  Boches  my  crippled 
machine  gun. 

If  it  seemed  to  others  that  he  ran  needless  risks 
in  the  spirit  of  untamed  adventure,  he  always 
declared  that  he  never  took  random  chances — that 
he  saw  his  way.  His  extraordinary  quickness  of 
eye  and  movement,  together  with  his  absolute 
fearlessness  that  saved  him  from  indecision  at  a 
critical  moment,  account  for  many  of  his  seem- 
ingly miraculous  escapes.  His  individual  method 
of  acting  both  as  pilot  and  gunner  was  another 
source  of  strength;  it  enabled  him  to  carry  more 

62 


THE  CHEVALIER  OF  FLIGHT 

gasoline  and  ammunition,  and  liis  aim  was  as  sure 
as  his  management  of  his  wings.  The  gun,  which 
was  attached  to  the  top  of  the  machine  over  his 
head,  was  controlled  by  a  lever  that  could  be  op- 
erated with  one  hand.  The  sights  were  directly  in 
front  so  that  he  aimed  by  pointing  his  machine. 

Guynemer,  the  practical  machinist,  was,  more- 
over, always  on  duty  before  every  flight.  No  one 
could  accuse  him  of  recklessness  and  say  that  he 
was  saved  through  some  magic  of  luck  who  saw 
him  prepare  for  an  attack.  He  spent  an  hour 
in  carefully,  lovingly,  examining  his  aeroplane 
and  gun.  Every  screw  and  buckle  w^as  put  to  the 
test.  Every  cartridge  was  inspected  and  oiled, 
together  with  all  the  other  parts  of  his  equipment. 
He  knew  the  exact  condition  of  his  motor  and 
propeller,  and  so  was  sure  what  he  could  count 
on  in  case  of  stress. 

Guynemer 's  squadron,  **The  Storks,"  so  called 
from  the  flying  stork  painted  on  the  side  of  each 
machine,  included  more  aviators  of  note  than  any 
other  escadrille.  Fourteen  members  of  this  group 
brought  down  a  third  of  all  the  German  machines 
destroyed  before  January,  1918,  two  hundred  in 
less  than  three  years,  according  to  the  official 
count. 

63 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

Among  all  of  the  famous  *  *  Storks, ' '  Rene  Dorme 
was  second  only  to  Guynemer  in  the  management 
of  his  machine  and  the  sureness  of  his  aim.  His 
disappearance  over  the  enemy  lines  after  a  fierce 
battle  in  the  clouds  four  months  before  the  loss 
of  Guynemer  himself,  was  mourned  by  all  his 
comrades.  On  the  day  that  he  went  from  them, 
May  25,  1917,  Guynemer  scored  his  famous  quad- 
ruple victory.  It  seemed  as  if  the  strength  born 
of  his  avenging  rage  knew  no  bounds.  Seeing 
three  machines  flying  together  toward  the  French 
lines,  he  made  one  of  his  spectacular  mounts, 
swooped  down  upon  them,  and  put  them  to  flight. 
Pursuing,  he  succeeded  in  getting  one  in  the  line 
of  fire  and  brought  it  to  earth  in  flames. 

The  one  weakness  of  Guynemer 's  solitary 
method  of  fighting  was  the  danger  of  rear  attack. 
That  was  where  his  marvellous  agility  came  into 
play — darting,  turning,  he  seemed  ready  at  every 
point.  After  bringing  down,  now,  his  first  Boche, 
the  avenger  wheeled  and  saw  a  second  trying  to 
reach  him  at  the  moment  he  was  intent  upon  his 
conquest;  but  he  had  already  received  from  above 
one  of  the  French  explosive  bullets,  and  in  a  mo- 
ment fell  in  flames  like  his  companion.  A  third 
Boche  who  dared  to  approach  the  French  aviation 

64 


Photograph  by  Press  Illustrating  Service,  Inc. 

THE   LATE   CAPTAIN  GEORGES  GUYNEMER 
French  Ace 


THE  CHEVALIER  OF  FLIGHT 

field  at  iiooii  of  the  same  day  was  sighted  by  Guy- 
nemer,  who  was  at  the  time  high  in  the  air. 
Swooping  down  like  a  wrathful  spirit,  he  fired 
but  one  shot  when  the  rash  enemy  fell  to  earth; 
the  bullet  had  found  the  head  of  the  pilot.  That 
same  evening  Guynemer  mounted  again  and 
brought  down  his  fourth  machine  in  flames — a 
spectacular  finish  for  his  great  day. 

It  was  this  quadruple  victory  that  won  for  Guy- 
nemer the  Rosette  of  the  Legion  of  Honor  which 
was  presented  with  this  commendation : 

"An  elite  oflBcer,  a  fighting  pilot  as  skilful  as  audacious. 
He  has  rendered  glowing  service  to  his  country,  both  by  the 
number  of  his  victories  and  the  daily  example  he  has  set  of 
burning  ardor  and  even  greater  mastery  increasing  from  day 
to  day.  Unconscious  of  danger,  on  account  of  his  sureness 
of  method  and  precision  of  maneuvers,  he  has  become  the  most 
redoubtable  of  all  to  the  enemy.  On  May  25,  1917,  he  accom- 
plished one  of  his  most  brilliant  exploits,  beating  down  two 
enemy  airplanes  in  one  minute,  and  gaining  two  more  victories 
the  same  day.  By  all  of  his  exploits  he  has  contributed  to- 
wards exalting  the  courage  and  enthusiasm  of  those,  wlio.  from 
the  trenches,  were  the  witnesses  of  his  triumphs.  He  has 
brought  down  forty-five  airplanes,  received  twenty  citations 
and  been  seriously  wounded  twice." 

But  I  think  that  more  than  any  eulogy  of  the 
great  or  adoration  of  the  crowd,  Georges  Guy- 
nemer would  have  hold  dear  this  fervid  tribute  of 
little  Franc-Comtois  Paul  Bailly,  an  eleven-year- 

65 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

old  schoolboy  in  the  village  of  Bouclans,  who  was 
selected  by  his  mates  to  speak  for  them  in  a  com- 
position written  on  the  day  set  apart  for  the  com- 
memoration of  the  life  of  the  hero  of  aces  in  the 
schools : 

Guynemer  is  the  Roland  of  our  epoch.  Like  Roland  he  was 
very  valiant,  and  like  Roland,  he  died  for  France.  But  his 
exploits  are  not  a  legend,  like  those  of  Roland;  they  are  more 
splendid  when  told  in  simple  truth  than  if  they  had  been  in- 
vented. For  his  glorification  there  is  to  be  written  in  the 
Pantheon  his  own  among  the  other  great  names.  His  aero- 
plane is  placed  in  the  Invalides.  At  our  school  a  day  is  con- 
secrated to  him;  we  have  his  portrait  on  our  wall;  we  have 
learned  his  last  citation  in  the  army  orders  as  a  lesson;  we 
have  traced  his  name  for  penmanship;  and  we  have  made  a 
drawing  of  an  aeroplane. 

Roland  was  the  pattern  of  the  chevaliers  of  another  age. 
Guynemer  becomes  the  pattern  of  the  French  of  to-day  and  all 
will  try  to  follow  his  example.  I  indeed  shall  never  forget 
him ;  I  shall  keep  the  remembrance  that  he,  like  my  dear  papa, 
died  for  France. 

And  SO  it  was  that  to  young  and  old,  to  the  sol- 
diers in  the  trenches,  to  workmen  in  the  factories, 
and  to  war-weary  people  throughout  the  land,  Guy- 
nemer was  the  incarnation  of  the  glorious,  uncon- 
querable soul  of  France. 

In  the  summer  of  1917,  the  young  hero's  friends 
sought  to  prevail  upon  him  to  take  some  much- 
needed  rest. 

66 


THE  CHEVALIER  OF  FLIGHT 

*'You  wanted  to  bring  down  fifty;  that  was  the 
goal  that  you  set  for  yourself.  Can  you  not  now 
be  satisfied  for  a  little?"  pleaded  his  father. 

''They  will  think  I  have  stopped  because  I  have 
won  all  the  honors  they  have  to  give;  they  will 
think  that  I  fought  for  the  prizes!"  said  Georges. 
*'It  is  my  life  to  fly." 

"But  surely  now  that  you  are  the  leader  of 
the  squadron  you  must  see  that  you  have  enough 
work  for  a  while  in  planning,  in  teaching  and  di- 
recting us  all,"  urged  his  companions. 

''How  can  you  expect  me  to  hold  back  and  hoard 
myself  when  adventure  beckons!"  he  replied. 
"Bringing  down  Boches  is  meat  and  drink  to  me." 

Guynemer  loved  his  little  machine  with  clipped 
wings  as  Roland  did  his  horse.  Though  he  won 
his  aceship  in  a  slower  model,  his  favorite  steed 
could  rise  10,000  feet  in  ten  minutes  and  maintain 
the  rate  of  120  miles  an  hour.  This  "scorner 
of  the  ground"  lost  its  buoyancy  when  the  speed 
was  less  than  60  miles,  and  it  was,  therefore, 
necessary  to  bring  it  to  a  landing  at  that  rate. 
How  Guynemer  chafed  when,  in  the  stress  of  a 
moment,  he  was  forced  to  use  a  borrowed  machine. 
Xow  his  own  model  is  kept,  a  sacred  relic,  in  the 
Invalides. 

67 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

In  one  of  the  old  hero  tales  of  the  Norse  we 
read  that  when  the  gods  wished  to  summon  Sig- 
mund,  the  glorious,  to  the  joys  of  Valhalla,  Odin, 
himself,  stayed  his  hand  in  the  midst  of  battle, 
and  broke  his  magic  sword.  We  might  believe 
that  the  Chevalier  of  Flight  was  singled  out  by 
the  gods  that  August,  for  his  marvellous  power 
seemed  all  at  once  to  pass  from  him.  He  struggled 
fiercely  against  fate — in  one  day  flying  seven  hours 
and  engaging  in  several  encounters,  but  all  with- 
out a  single  success.  On  September  10,  the  day 
before  the  last  flight,  he  attempted  to  set  out  in 
three  different  machines,  but  all  proved  contrary 
and  forced  him  back  to  earth.  That  evening  his 
companions,  despairing  of  making  him  listen  to 
reason,  telephoned  to  his  old  commanding  oflScer  to 
come  and  carry  him  off  before  he  did  himself  a 
mischief.  Commander  Brocard  wired  Guynemer 
that  he  was  coming  to  see  him  at  nine  o  'clock  the 
next  morning. 

It  seemed  as  if  the  young  eagle  divined  their 
schemes  to  cage  him.  At  eight  o'clock,  calling 
Lieutenant  Bozon-Verduras  to  accompany  him, 
Guynemer  set  out  on  his  last  flight.  As  in  the 
case  of  the  greatest  heroes,  his  passing  was 
shrouded  in  mystery.     The  French  peasants  de- 

68 


THE  CHEVALIER  OF  FLIGHT 

clare  that  he  was  never  brought  to  the  ground, 
but  that  his  dauntless  wings  carried  him  straight 
up  to  heaven.  All  that  his  companion  could  tell 
was  this:  Guynemer  sighted  an  enemy  machine 
and  flew  to  the  attack,  leaving  him  to  ward  off 
a  possible  interference  from  a  group  of  fighting 
planes  in  the  distance.  They  turned  off  in  an- 
other direction,  however,  wdthout  seeing  the  eagle 
circling  above.  When  the  lieutenant  returned  to 
his  station,  the  eagle  had  passed  out  of  sight. 
"Surely,"  he  thought,  ''he  brought  down  his  game 
and  followed  to  see  the  finish." 

But  that  was  the  last  that  was  seen  of  the  leader 
of  the  '^ Storks." 

News  of  his  disappearance  was  carefully  sup- 
pressed, so  that  his  chances  of  escape  might  not  be 
lessened  in  case  he  had  been  forced  to  land  in 
enemy  territory.  But  in  spite  of  everything,  a 
London  newspaper  of  September  17  gave  out  the 
story  of  his  loss,  and  some  days  after  this  the 
Cologne  "Gazette"  printed  an  item,  saying  cas- 
ually that  a  pilot  to  fame  unknown,  one  Wisse- 
man,  had  written  home  that  he  had  brought  down, 
on  September  10,  the  great  ace  of  aces,  and  so 
could  not  doubt  his  power  to  conquer  everywhere ! 
Though  the  Germans  had  always  been  accustomed 

69 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

to  announce  immediately  the  fall  of  an  enemy 
aviator,  this  was  the  only  news  of  the  great  Guy- 
nemer  that  was  forthcoming  for  ten  days  after 
his  disappearance. 

Application  was  made  through  the  Red  Cross  to 
Germany  for  official  information  as  to  the  disposi- 
tion of  his  body,  and  the  reply  came  that  after  he 
had  been  brought  down  on  September  10  he  was 
buried  with  military  honors  in  the  cemetery  at 
Poelcappelle  in  Belgium.  When  this  village  a  few 
days  later  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  British,  how- 
ever, the  search  for  his  grave  was  in  vain.  In 
reply  to  a  further  request  for  information,  the 
news  was  vouchsafed  that  Guynemer's  body  could 
not  be  removed  from  the  wreck  of  his  machine 
because  of  the  unceasing  artillery  fire,  which 
finally,  in  flames  and  upturned  earth  destroyed 
every  trace  of  the  aeroplane  and  its  pilot. 

It  may  be  that  the  children  and  the  untaught 
peasants  are  right  when  they  say  that  the  life  of 
the  marvellous  boy  ended  in  a  miracle.  At  any 
rate  his  fiery  spirit  left  no  cold  ashes  to  be  re- 
turned to  Mother  Earth,  even  to  the  sacred  soil 
of  his  beloved  France,  when  it  passed  into  the 
eternal  sky — fire  unto  fire! 

70 


THE  CHEVALIER  OF  FLIGHT 

On  the  tablet  erected  to  his  memory  in  the 
Pantheon  are  inscribed  these  words : 

"Captain  GujTiemer,  commander  of  Squadron  No.  3,  died 
on  the  field  of  honor  September  11,  1917.  A  hero  of  legend- 
ary power,  he  fell  in  the  wide  heaven  of  glory,  after  three 
years  of  hard  figliting.  He  will  long  remain  the  purest  s}Tn- 
bol  of  the  qualities  of  the  race:  indomitable  in  tenacity,  en- 
thusiastic in  energy,  sublime  in  courage.  Animated  with  in- 
extinguishable faith  in  victory,  he  bequeaths  to  the  French 
soldier  the  imperishable  remembrance  which  will  exalt  the 
spirit  of  sacrifice  and  the  most  noble  emulation." 


71 


"LE  PATRON^s 

(The  Boss) 

MARSHAL  FOCH 


"Victory  is  a  thing  of  the  will.  ...  A  lost  battle  is  a  battle 
one  believes  oneself  to  have  lost.  A  battle,  then,  can  only  be 
lost  morally,  and  it  is  only  morally  that  a  battle  is  won." 

Marshal  Foch. 


*'LE  PATRON" 
(The  Boss) 

WHAT  manner  of  man  is  Marshal  Foeh,  the 
man  who  brought  the  one  thing  needful 
tor  the  success  of  the  Allied  Forces — unity?  For, 
as  all  of  their  early  defeats  were  due  to  the  lack 
of  a  man  big  enough  to  bring  together  all  the 
diverse  elements  and  varying  national  ideals  and 
ambitions  that  fought  side  by  side  in  the  great 
Army  of  Freedom,  so  the  last  splendid  victories 
were  directly  due  to  the  presence  of  that  ''four- 
square man" — the  sort  of  balanced  character,  that, 
the  great  Napoleon  declared,  the  successful  leader 
must  be.  For  while,  like  the  Little  Corporal, 
he  is  small  of  stature,  (as  if  Fate  wished  to  prove 
that  human  power  depends  not  upon  material  fac- 
tors but  upon  "divine"  elements)  the  man  whom 
the  French  soldiers  call  le  patron,  the  Boss,  and 
the  great  generals  of  all  the  Allied  Armies  have 
hailed  as  Generalissimo,  is  not  only,  quoting  Joffre, 
*'the  greatest  strategist  in  Europe  and  the  hum- 

75 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

blest,"  but  oue  of  the  greatest  military  com- 
manders of  all  time. 

The  measure  of  the  man  is  indicated  in  his 
famous  message  sent  to  Joff re  at  the  crisis  of  the 
first  battle  of  the  Marne : 

''My  right  has  been  rolled  up;  my  left  has  been 
driven  in ; — consequently,  with  all  that  1  have  left 
in  my  centre,  I  now  will  attack ! ' ' 

So  it  was  that  in  the  very  midst  of  disaster,  he 
never  allowed  himself  for  a  moment  to  think  de- 
feat. For  with  all  his  soul  Foch  believes  "A  lost 
battle  is  a  battle  one  believes  oneself  to  have  lost ; 
in  a  material  sense  no  battle  can  be  lost.  A  battle, 
then,  can  only  be  lost  morally,  and  it  is  only  mor- 
ally that  a  battle  is  won.'*  Never  for  an  instant 
did  Foch  swerve  from  his  faith  in  the  ultimate 
victory.  His  first  quoted  utterance  after  assum- 
ing the  supreme  command  was  typical  of  his  atti- 
tude: ''The  future  will  show  the  full  measure  of 
our  success.     All  is  going  well. " 

But  if  this  finely  tempered  optimism,  that  is 
much  more  than  a  matter  of  sanguine  tempera- 
ment, having  its  roots  in  his  sober,  reasoned  phi- 
losophy of  life,  accounts  in  a  measure  for  his  suc- 
cess, it  is  yet  only  half  the  story.  He  has  shown 
first  and  last  a  determined  bulldog  tenacity  that 

76 


''LE  PATRON" 

may  be  compared  to  General  Grant's  I  shall  fight 
it  out  on  this  line  if  it  takes  all  summer.  Another 
incident  that  has  become  part  of  the  history  of 
the  first  battle  of  the  Marne  will  illustrate  this 
characteristic,  which  was,  in  the  balanced  charac- 
ter of  the  leader,  what  reserves  are  in  the  con- 
stitution of  an  army.  At  the  height  of  the  struggle 
when  Foch  was  carrying  out  his  superb  counter- 
offensive  in  the  presence  of  apparent  failure,  one 
of  his  officers  rode  up  to  him  and  said,  *'It  is 
impossible  to  persist  further;  my  men  are  tired 
out." 

''Tired  out!"  exclaimed  Foch  sharply;  *'so  are 
the  Germans!    Attack!" 

Thus,  in  the  account  of  Foch's  part  in  bring- 
ing about  *'the  miracle  of  the  Marne,"  we  have 
the  keynote  of  his  character. 

Everybody  felt  that  the  Battle  of  the  Marne  was 
a  veritable  miracle,  but  still  everybody  wanted 
to  know  what  the  chief  human  factor  was  in  bring- 
ing about  the  victory  that  shattered  Von  Billow's 
army,  checkmated  Von  Kluck,  and  saved  Paris. 

"There  are  just  two  things  that  you  can  pick 
out,"  said  a  French  officer.  "The  first  was  the 
way  in  which  Joffre  hurled  Manoury's  army  on 
the  flank  of  Von  Kluck,  bringing  him  once  for 

77 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

all  to  a  halt ;  the  other— and  I  am  inclined  to  think 
it  as  great  a  factor— was  the  wonderful  strategy 
of  Foch.  At  a  moment  when  he  seemed  too  weak 
to  maintain  the  defensive,  he  saved  himself  and 
won  the  day  by  a  brilliant  counter-attack.  Dis- 
covering a  gap  between  two  German  armies,  he 
directed  his  batteries  at  that  point  with  such  tell- 
ing effect  that  a  veritable  panic  took  possession 
of  the  lines  raked  by  our  75 's.  This  success  was 
planned  to  occupy  the  enemy  and  screen  his  mas- 
ter-stroke— a  surprise  maneuver  similar  to  that  of 
Joffre's.  Seizing  a  neighboring  division  on  the 
left,  he  swept  it  around  to  the  right  in  a  sudden 
pounce  on  the  German  flank.'* 

In  one  of  Foch's  celebrated  books  on  the  science 
of  war,  we  find  some  bits  of  interesting  philosophy. 
''Victory  is  a  thing  of  the  will,"  he  says;  and 
"A  general  must  possess  the  energy  to  take  the 
necessary  risks. ' '  His  own  career  gives  admirable 
point  to  his  teaching,  for,  rooted  and  grounded 
in  his  certain  faith  in  the  ultimate  victory,  his 
ivill  to  win  was  indeed  invincible,  and  he  saw  that 
the  necessary  risks  were  so  many  God-given  oppor- 
tunities, to  be  seized  with  an  energy  that  would 
never  fail  so  long  as  it  refused  to  entertain  the 


thought  of  defeat. 


78 


*'LE  PATRON" 

Foch  knew  that  pessimism  is  a  confession  of 
weakness,  so  he  watched  for  indications  of  de- 
pression in  the  enemy  as  he  watched  for  weak 
points  in  their  lines. 

"War  is  not  an  exact  science,  it  is  a  terrifying 
and  passionate  drama!"  he  used  to  say.  In  his 
strategy,  then,  he  took  account  of  the  mind  and 
moral  attitude  of  the  enemy.  **We  must  maneu- 
ver if  we  are  going  to  bring  to  bear  a  superior 
force  at  a  certain  point,"  he  said,  "and  we  get  the 
full  effect  of  the  surprise  by  the  sudden  appear- 
ance of  danger  which  the  enemy  cannot  ward  off. 
Never  let  yourself  look  upon  a  battle  as  a  mere 
artillery  duel.  It  is  a  struggle  of  moral  forces 
and  morale  will  win. ' ' 

Once  again,  who  is  this  great  strategist  who 
is  also  a  psychologist  and  a  philosopher?  What 
is  the  personality  behind  the  power? 

Ferdinand  Foch  was  born  October  2,  1851,  in 
the  town  of  Tarbes  in  the  foot-hills  of  the  Pyre- 
nees. It  is  a  curious  coincidence  that  his  birth- 
place was  only  four  miles  distant  from  that  of 
Joffie,  and  that  the  two  Marne  generals  were 
within  a  few  months  of  the  same  age.  Both  were 
brilliant  mathematicians  and  both  were  artillery- 
men.   Both  had  their  first  taste  of  war  at  the  siege 

79 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

of  Paris  in  1871.  Both  had  somewhat  similar 
colonial  experience  in  Madagascar.  But  there  the 
parallel  ends.  Joffre,  big,  patient  and  solid,  was 
by  temperament  a  cautious,  defensive  fighter; 
Focli,  something  below  medium,  slight  and  quick, 
was  in  theory  and  practice  a  believer  in  main- 
taining the  offensive  even  out  of  apparent  weak- 
ness. 

Some  have  declared  that  the  Foch  family  has 
an  Alsatian  strain,  which  accounts  for  the  suspi- 
ciously Teutonic  look  of  the  name.  (It  is  pro- 
nounced as  if  it  were  spelled  Foche,  the  o  very 
long.)  But  he  is  in  fact  much  nearer  being  a 
Spaniard,  for  there  is  a  dash  of  Basque  blood  in 
his  veins,  and  his  early  childhood  was  spent  within 
sight  of  the  hills  of  Spain.  There  was  nothing, 
however,  of  the  dreamer  of  castles  in  Spain  in 
the  child  Ferdinand  or  in  the  youth  who  was  dis- 
tinguished for  his  proficiency  in  geometry  and 
logic.  He  loved  the  exact  sciences,  turning  away 
instinctively  from  the  vague  and  intangible. 

**His  feet  are  always  planted  firmly  on  the 
ground,  and  his  head  is  always  level,"  said  one 
of  his  students  at  the  Ecole  de  Guerre — France's 
famous  war  college — *'but  he  is  not  one  who  thinks. 

80 


'^LE  PATEON" 

that  YOU  can  bring  a  yardstick  to  the  judgment 
of  all  the  facts  of  the  universe. ' ' 

Does  it  seem  a  matter  of  surprise  that  the  first 
strategist  in  Europe  was  once  an  instructor  who 
was  so  enthusiastic  in  his  work  and  so  inspiring 
in  his  influence  that  he  was  called  a  "born 
teacher"?  He  taught  more  than  the  bare  facts; 
he  developed  the  power  to  think,  and  his  strong 
personality  commanded  respect  and  quickened 
character. 

"The  officers  who  passed  through  the  Ecole  de 
Guerre  between  1896  and  1907  will  never  lose  the 
impression  produced  on  them  by  their  professor 
of  strategy  and  tactics.  The  course  was  eagerly 
looked  forward  to  as  the  fundamental  teaching 
of  the  school,"  said  one  of  his  former  pupils. 
"When  directing  a  skeleton  or  map  maneuver,  he 
put  his  officers  through  a  veritable  course  of  in- 
tellectual gymnastics.  It  was  impossible  to  cir- 
cumvent him  by  approximations  or  compromises; 
he  always  held  you  up  with  his  famous :  'Now  what 
is  the  point?'  He  was  an  excellent  teacher  be- 
cause he  had  a  passion  for  teaching." 

The  philosopliy  of  General  Foch,  which  pro- 
foundly influenced  his  work  as  a  teacher,  as  we 

81 


FIGHTEKS  FOR  PEACE 

see  in  his  published  volumes  of  lectures,  "The 
Principles  of  War"  and  "Concerning  the  Waging 
of  War,"  had  its  source  in  deep  religious  convic- 
tions. The  faith  that  he  was  taught  in  his  child- 
hood grew  and  ripened  with  the  experiences  of 
the  years.  Never  a  thing  apart,  it  was  the  unify- 
ing principle  of  his  practical  conceptions  of  life. 
*'He  is  the  only  man  of  theory  I  ever  knew  who 
was  better  in  practice,"  said  an  English  officer. 

"Do  you  recall  that  I  come  of  a  religious  family, 
to  whom  the  church  is  of  tremendous  moment?" 
said  Foch  one  day  to  Premier  Clemenceau,  who 
had  just  informed  him,  over  their  after-luncheon 
coffee  and  cigars,  that  he  had  been  appointed 
Director  of  the  Ecole  de  Guerre.  "What  will  the 
politicians  say  to  your  putting  up  a  man  wiiose 
brother  is  a  Jesuit  priest?  Why,  I  have  not  even 
been  a  candidate!" 

' '  That  is  just  it ! "  replied  the  ' '  Tiger. "  "  This 
is  one  classic  instance  of  the  office  seeking  the 
man.  Besides  I  think  you  have  the  added  distinc- 
tion of  being  the  one  eligible  officer  who  hasn't 
been  a  candidate." 

"But  you  have  n't  taken  into  account  the  fright- 
ful handicap  of  my  religion,"  put  in  Foch  again, 
the  suspicion  of  a  twinkle  in  his  eyes. 

82 


''LE  PATRON" 

''Well,  General,"  returned  the  ''Tiger,"  "not 
all  the  Jesuits  in  the  world  or  all  the  suspicions 
of  the  anti-church  party  can  together  keep  you 
from  taking  the  job  you're  the  man  for!" 

And  so,  first  as  teacher  of  military  history  and 
theory  and  later  as  Commandant,  Foch  exerted  a 
powerful,  determining  influence  upon  the  classes 
of  young  officers  who  directed  the  French  divisions 
in  the  Great  War.  In  a  very  real  sense,  therefore, 
the  French  army  is  Foch's  army,  from  the  men 
in  the  ranks,  who,  to  the  last  poihc  of  them  all, 
rely  implicitly  upon  le  patron,  to  the  colonels  and 
commanders  who  wore  imbued  through  and 
through  with  a  single  ideal:  France  must  profit 
by  the  hard  lesson  of  the  defeat  of  1871.  Sure 
of  herself  and  her  cause,  she  must  have  the  cour- 
age to  dominate  events — to  seize  and  keep  the 
offensive  at  all  costs. 

"What  a  confession  of  weakness  it  was,"  said 
a  French  captain,  "when  the  Germans  gave  up 
open  fighting  and  took  to  the  trenches.  They 
could  do  nothing  more  than  prolong  the  struggle 
and  delay  the  inevitable  end  in  that  way.  More- 
over, time  was  fighting  for  us,  since  Germany  was 
in  effect  a  besieged  city.  But  only  a  nation  with 
a  cause  and  a  sure  faith  could  have  kept  on  with 

83 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 
the  aggressive  part  after  a  defeat  like  that  of  the 
Marne." 

General  Foch's  faith  in  victory  was  not  of  the 
sort  that  refuses  to  face  the  difficulties  to  be  sur- 
mounted. We  are  told  that  when  he  was  ques- 
tioned during  the  dark  days  of  1914,  for  his  judg- 
ment in  regard  to  the  struggle,  he  used  to  reply 
in  three  short  words :  "Long,  dur,  sur."  (Long, 
hard,  sure.)  And  the  four  years  that  succeeded 
proved  that  he  was  a  true  prophet. 

The  way  in  which  Foch  kept  ahead  of  the  Ger- 
mans in  the  famous  "race  to  the  sea"  well  illus- 
trates what  force  there  was  behind  those  three 
words  as  uttered  by  the  master  strategist,  who 
also  declared  with  a  conviction  that  could  only 
come  from  practical  experience,  "No  man  need 
ever  be  tired  in  a  crisis  if  he  manages  his  mind 
right." 

Picture  the  situation  when  the  Germans,  after 
the  Marne  check,  were  trying  to  pass  on  through 
Western  France  and  outflank  the  French  army. 
Seeing  the  danger,  the  French  kept  extending  their 
lines  westward  to  bar  the  way.  Thus  the  two 
armies  were,  in  effect,  racing  to  the  coast,  which, 
when  reached,  would  put  an  end  to  any  further 
move  to  get  behind  and  envelop  the  Allied  armies. 

84 


'*LE  PATRON" 

The  Germans,  who  had  superior  numbers  and 
equipment  of  every  sort, — railway  material,  motor 
trucks,  and  every  means  of  transportation,  to- 
gether with  thuir  big  guns, — seemed  to  have  heavy 
odds  on  their  side.  But  there  they  came  against 
Foch,  with  his  power  to  seize  the  vital  pohits  of 
a  situation  and  multiply  his  force  by  swift  and 
well-calculated  movement.  It  was  as  if  each  man 
under  his  skilful  strategy  did  the  work  of  two. 
Every  unit  was  dynamic  at  every  moment — and 
Foch  always  managed  to  get  on  the  spot  first. 

Of  all  the  brilliant  French  leaders,  Foch  was 
the  one  best  understood  and  most  warmly  admired 
by  the  British.  This  was  partly  because  his  tem- 
perament accorded  happily  with  the  English  atti- 
tude. 

''That  little  man  would  be  hopeful  if  he  had  a 
bullet  through  his  middle,"  said  Tommy  Atkins. 

"He  lives  and  flourishes  by  mental  pluck,"  said 
a  London  newspaper  correspondent. 

It  was,  however,  not  only  his  invigorating 
optimism  which  won  for  him  the  whole-hearted 
confidence  of  the  British,  but  the  fact  that  he  was 
indeed  a  four-square  man — that  he  did  not  flinch 
before  the  "luvg  and  dur"  of  the  fighting  while 
he  insisted  on  the   silr  of  the   victory.     It   was 

85 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

really  a  beautiful  thing  to  see  Lloyd  George's 
look  of  content  when  lie  spoke  of  General  Foch's 
selection  as  Commander-in-chief.  He  knew  that 
at  last  the  Allies  had  a  leader  who  would  bring 
them  all  together— a  man  who  would  meet  every 
stress  and  rise  to  every  emergency. 

That  was  shown  at  the  first  battle  of  Ypres, 
when  British  cooks,  orderlies  and  porters — the 
last  muster  of  reserves— were  trying  to  hold  back 
the  German  hordes,  battalion  on  battalion  of  picked 
men,  and,  as  it  would  seem,  unlimited  reenforce- 
ments.  At  the  darkest  moment  when  the  British 
were  quite  spent  and  the  Belgians  all  but  despair- 
ing of  holding  the  line  at  the  Yser,  Foch  arrived 
with  a  sufficient  number  of  reserves  and  his  faith 
in  a  determined  offensive.  As  one  correspondent 
put  it,  '*he  loosed  the  dikes  and  flooded  the  Ger- 
mans with  Frenchmen."  Putting  up  his  trusty 
75 's  in  any  cover  that  came  to  hand,  he  promptly 
shattered  the  Iluns'  belief  in  the  possibility  of 
a  drive.  AVith  a  greatly  inferior  force  which  he 
kept  moving  in  small  but  telling  counter-attacks, 
he  won  the  day.  Again  as  at  the  Marne,  he 
proved  the  virtue  of  his  swift  and  well-timed 
offensive  as  the  surest  means  of  defense. 

British  officers  and  historians  were  unanimous 

86 


**LE  PATRON" 

in  lauding  Focli  as  the  one  to  whom  they  owed 
it  that  Calais  and  the  other  Cliannel  ports  were  not 
seized  for  submarine  bases.  In  token  of  the  na- 
tion's gratitude,  King  George  promptly  bestowed 
on  the  French  commander  the  Order  of  the  Bath,  a 
distinction  given  only  to  those  who  have  rendered 
the  greatest  service  to  Pjugland. 

''Why  did  you  have  so  few  prisoners  to  show 
for  your  victory  at  Ypres?"  Foch  was  asked. 

"It  must  have  been  because  our  machine  guns 
and  bayonets  gave  the  Boches  no  chance  to  think 
of  surrender,"  he  replied. 

It  was  once  said  of  Foch  that  he  was  of  the 
** Bonaparte  and  Kaiser  kind"  in  his  willingness 
to  sacrifice  lives  in  order  to  score  in  the  great 
game.  "Well,"  he  retorted,  when  timidly  chal- 
lenged by  an  American  attache  in  regard  to  his 
policy,  "your  own  Grant  did  not  believe  in  spar- 
ing men  when  the  need  came,  did  he?" 

"That  is  true,"  acquiesced  the  American. 
"One  must  sacrifice  to  win." 

"Don't  misunderstand  and  misquote  me  now,'* 
said  Foch,  a  twinkle  in  his  blue-gray  eyes.  "It 
is  the  Germans  I  believe  in  sacrificing;  I  never 
throw  away  my  own  soldiers." 

"What  is  the  secret  of  the  Boss's  uncanny  in- 

87 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

stinct  for  bitting  upon  just  the  right  spots  for 
his  surprise  attacks  ? ' '  queried  an  ambitious  Amer- 
ican lieutenant  who  believed  in  improving  the 
chance  that  had  put  him  opposite  a  thoughtful 
French  captain  at  dinner. 

"It  would  seem  as  if  he  not  only  studies  the 
present  condition  of  the  enemy — his  material  and 
moral  assets — but  from  that  point  of  departure 
he  studies  also  the  future."  The  Captain  paused, 
choosing  his  words.  "Of  course  the  roots  of  the 
future  are  in  the  present ;  and  Foch  seems  to  have 
power  to  divine  the  nature  and  trend  of  the  growth 
from  what  now  exists.  He  puts  himself  face  to 
face  with  the  enemy 's  problems,  sees  the  way  he  '11 
try  to  meet  them,  and  then  with  that  grip  on  the 
future,  our  General  makes  it  his  business  to  strike 
first.  There  is  every  advantage  in  that  first  blow. 
And,  you  must  admit,"  he  added  with  a  laugh, 
"that,  when  it  is  a  matter  of  being  quick  and  on 
the  spot  the  Hun  with  his  ponderous  Kultur  is 
no  match  for  a  Frenchman." 

Would  you  like  to  get  a  glimpse  of  the  Foch 
that  the  members  of  his  staff  know?  The  Paris 
"L 'Illustration"  pictures  his  headquarters  at  the 
rear  of  the  lines  where,  in  a  room  without  chairs 
since  everybody  there  is  always  at  alert  attention, 

88 


PhotograDli  by  iTeas  llluslrating  Service,  Inc. 

MARSHAL  FERDINAND  FOCH 
Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Allied  Forces 


"LE  PATRON'* 

the  General  stands  before  a  map  of  the  fighting 
area  as  if  he  were  in  a  classroom.  About  him  are 
grouped  in  the  strictest  military  fashion  a  number 
of  officers — the  members  of  his  staff. 

The  ''Boss"  has  direct  blue-gray  eyes,  set  wide 
apart  under  a  high  forehead ;  the  nose  is  large  and 
finely  cut,  the  chin  powerful.  One  is  immediately 
impressed  by  the  serenity  and  also  by  the  nervous 
energy  of  his  face.  He  stands  motionless,  except 
that  now  and  then  he  tugs  abruptly  at  his  iron- 
gray  moustache.  His  even  tones  carry  authority 
and  conviction.  .  .  .  An  officer  enters,  salutes,  and 
makes  a  report.  Foch  looks  intently  at  the  map, 
draws  a  line,  puts  a  question,  and  then  turns  back 
to  the  map  as  the  officer  takes  a  place  among  the 
rest  of  the  staff.  He  is,  like  Joffre,  a  man  of 
few  words  when  at  the  post  of  command. 

As  Generalissimo,  he  is  the  one  who  decides  for 
all  the  armies  of  the  Allies  the  points  for  attack 
and  those  for  withdrawal;  the  immediate  placing 
of  the  army  of  maneuver;  and  the  exact  moment 
for  passing  from  the  defense  to  aggression. 
Under  his  direction,  not  only  the  forces  on  the 
Western  front — six  million  men  of  eight  different 
nationalities — acted  together  as  one  mighty  army; 
but  also  the  armies  in  Palestine,  in  Bulgaria,  and 

89 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

in  Italy,  timed  their  moves  as  parts  of  the  great 
whole. 

''You  officers  who  simply  know  the  General  at 
headquarters,  have  never  seen  the  real  man,"  said 
one  of  his  friends.  *'It  is  only  w^hen  he  is  out 
of  doors  that  le  Patron  relaxes  his  hold  and  gives 
the  man  a  chance — the  man  who  loves  the  woods, 
who  knows  the  trees  as  intimates  of  his  spirit. 
And  he  is  almost  as  much  at  his  ease  among  books 
and  pictures  as  he  is  in  the  saddle." 

His  hours  with  his  horse,  Croesus,  a  splendid 
chestnut,  who  was  his  favorite  companion  through 
all  the  campaigns  of  the  war,  gave  the  General 
the  rest  and  renewal  he  most  needed  while  he 
was  carrying  the  plans  of  the  world  battles  in 
his  mind  and  heart.  Like  Napoleon,  he  found  that 
a  brisk  canter  could,  on  occasion,  take  the  place 
of  hours  of  sleep. 

It  is  the  time  of  the  great  German  offensive, 
launched  March  21,  1918,  which  held  the  centre  of 
the  world  stage  until  the  middle  of  April.  Foch 
is  biding  his  time,  upheld  by  his  faith  in  the 
victory  and  a  patience  like  that  of  Joffre.  He  is 
holding  all  his  forces  in  leash,  even  when  he  sees 
the  Allied  line  broken  and  his  armies  in  retreat. 
His  confidence  seems  born  of  a  power  to  judge 

90 


*'LE  PATRON" 

aright  the  factors  that  are  working  against  him 
in  the  present  moment  and  to  see  what  the  future 
has  in  store.  He  reads  as  in  an  open  book  the 
conditions  underlying  this  desperate  spending  of 
every  resource  in  man  power  and  munitions.  It 
is  a  gambler's  mad  stake  on  one  last  throw. 

Calmly  he  waits,  letting  the  enemy  spend  him- 
self. The  Germans  reason  that  he  is  overwhelmed 
by  the  mighty  onslaught,  that  their  advance  has 
crushed  all  power  of  resistance.  Why  need  to 
worry  about  food  supplies?  Hindenburg  assures 
the  people  at  home  that  by  the  first  of  May  they 
will  bo  in  Paris  and  have  the  Allies  at  their  mercy. 

Still  Foch  bides  his  time.  He  knows  that  this 
wave  of  success  must  soon  break;  he  knows  that 
the  situation  must  indeed  be  desperate  when  a 
great  leader  pins  all  his  faith  on  one  stroke,  mak- 
ing no  preparation  for  a  blow  at  any  other  point. 
It  must  be  a  race  with  starvation.  Once  again 
the  Germans  prove  their  inability  to  gauge  either 
the  resources  or  the  morale  of  the  nations  ranged 
against  them.  They  see  in  Foch's  waiting  only 
a  confession  of  weakness,  and  their  assurance 
grows.  Recklessly  they  plunge  on.  The  Allied 
line  gives  way  before  them  reluctantly,  but  it 
yields,  even  as  far  as  the  Marne. 

91 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

There,  out  of  breath  as  it  were,  the  Germans 
pause  a  moment.  Since  every  offensive  with  its 
concentrated  effort  leads  to  a  shrinking  of  the 
lines,  there  comes  inevitably  a  point  where  a  lull  is 
necessary  in  order  to  give  room  for  maneuver. 
Then  a  general  must  be  read}^  to  strike  at  another 
point  if  he  does  not  want  to  lose  the  initiative. 
But  when,  in  April,  the  German  offensive  wore 
itself  out  at  the  Marne,  Foch  knew  that  his  hour 
had  come.  They  should  see  that  they  had  to 
reckon  with  a  force  that  would  not  allow  them  to 
take  their  good  time  to  recover.  The  chance  of 
following  up  their  victory  would  never  come. 

There  were  two  alternatives  before  Foch.  He 
might  attempt  a  strong  blow  on  the  German  flank, 
or  he  might  try  a  succession  of  blows  at  several 
points.  There  is  always  a  temptation  to  try  for 
the  big  thing — for  the  one  decisive  stroke  for 
which  everybody  longs.  But  Foch  saw  that  the 
enemy  had  still  great  striking  power  and  that 
they  were  at  their  best  between  Rheims  and  the 
North  Sea  where  their  excellent  system  of  com- 
munication would  make  the  shifting  of  forces  from 
point  to  point  easy.  He  decided  on  a  hammering 
policy  that  aimed  to  reduce  their  numbers  and 
their  morale  bit  by  bit.    It  was  as  if  he  said  to 

92 


*'LE  PATRON" 

himself :  "I  will  give  them  chance  to  experience 
nothing  but  blow  upon  blow  until  they  get  in  the 
habit  of  thinking  defeat. ' ' 

What  uncanny  power  gave  the  master  strategist 
his  instinct  for  the  exact  point  to  strike?  Always 
he  selected  a  spot  where  the  Germans  were  trying 
to  effect  a  retirement  or  one  from  which  they 
were  attempting  to  bring  reserves.  As  soon  as 
the  exasperated  Von  Ludendorf,  (who  had  suc- 
ceeded Hindenburg  as  chief  of  staff)  tried  to  shift 
a  few  battalions  from  another  section  to  relieve 
the  one  under  stress,  along  came  another  irritat- 
ing check  right  at  that  point!  It  was  really  most 
annoying  to  be  delayed  by  such  petty  engage- 
ments when  he  was  almost  ready  to  set  in  motion 
a  drive  so  colossal  that  the  Kaiser's  enemies 
should  be  forever  confounded. 

But  Foch  continued  to  hammer  away,  now  with 
the  army  of  Byng  at  Cambrai ;  now  with  the  forces 
of  Rawlinson  at  St.  Quentin.  Again,  the  storm 
centre  shifted  to  St.  Mihiel  or  the  Meuse,  where 
Pershing's  men  rose  to  the  attack.  Then,  at  the 
very  moment  an  attempt  was  made  to  abandon 
the  territory  between  Ypros  and  the  soa,  the  Eng- 
lish, French  and  Belgians  foil  npon  the  retreating 
columns   and   forced   them   willy-nilly   into   line. 

93 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

They  were  not  allowed  to  shorten  their  front  and 
retire  rapidly  to  a  carefully  prepared  position 
that  might  give  them  a  better  fighting  chance. 
Instead  of  being  merely  driven  back,  they  were 
compelled  to  stand  and  take  blow  after  blow. 

It  must  have  been  a  terrifying  and  tragic  mo- 
ment when  it  finally  dawned  upon  Ludendorf  and 
his  henchmen  that  they  had  been  out-generaled, 
and  that  the  end  could  only  be  a  question  of  weeks. 
The  Germans  could  see  too  that  Foch  was  able  to 
pursue  his  relentless  strategy  without  check  be- 
cause of  two  blunders  of  their  own:  First,  the 
terrible  waste  of  men  in  their  glorious  spring 
drive ;  second,  the  coming  of  the  despised  x\meri- 
can  troops,  which  had  shifted  the  balance  of  man- 
power to  the  side  of  the  Allies. 

"With  every  day  the  condition  of  the  enemy  be- 
came more  desperate.  The  soldiers  who  were  see- 
ing their  lines  struck  everywhere  felt  the  help- 
lessness of  their  leaders  and  began  to  ''think 
defeat."  Many  allowed  themselves  to  be  taken 
after  only  a  half-hearted  attempt  at  defense.  The 
hammering  method  does  not  produce  panic;  it  re- 
duces morale  and  power. 

On  October  8,  w^hen  Foch  threw  three  British 
armies  against  the  line  between  Cambrai  and  St. 

94 


*'LE  PATRON" 

Quentin,  it  was  plain  that  the  end  was  in  sight. 
Five  weeks  later  Germany  had  entirely  collapsed, 
her  armies  driven  from  their  defenses — Hmden- 
burg's  wonderful  series  of  "lines,"  which,  like  the 
water-tight  compartments  of  a  boat,  were  designed 
to  give  security  during  storm  after  storm  of  attack. 
Then  came  the  great  day  when  the  representa- 
tives of  the  German  people  waited  upon  Marshal 
Foch  at  his  headquarters  to  receive  from  him  the 
terms  upon  which  they  might  have  an  armistice. 
The  master  strategist  who  had  led  the  foe  to  the 
point  of  defeat  was  the  man  who  bade  them  sign 
the  paper  of  surrender. 

General  Foch  has  received  many  honors  from 
his  own  country  and  from  the  Allies.  As  victor 
of  the  second  battle  of  the  Marne,  he  was,  like 
Joffre,  presented  with  the  baton  of  a  Marshal  of 
France.  When  the  end  came  there  was  no  higher 
reward  to  bestow.  But  surely  the  man  who  held 
that  'S'ictory  is  a  thing  of  the  will,"  and  that 
<Mt  is  only  morally  that  a  battle  can  be  won,"  must 
have  felt  in  that  unconditional  surrender  of  his 
country's  foe  his  true  reward.  The  will  to  win 
had  triumphed. 


95 


THE  ''TIGER"  AS  MAN  OF  VICTORY 
PREMIER  CLEMENCEAU 


'^e,  women  of  France,  mothers,  wives,  sisters  of  the  brave 
soldiers  ot  Xormaiidy  ...  to  you,  tu'eiess  fighter,  champion 
of  justice.  Frenchman  and  patriot,  we  appeal.  We  rally 
under  your  flag,  the  emblem  of  energy ;  we  have  faith  in  your 
standard." 

Petition  of  French  Women  to  Clemenceau. 


THE  "TIGER"  AS  MAN  OF  VICTORY 

THERE  was  a  man  who  earned  the  name  of 
"Tiger"  from  his  fellow  countrymen,  be- 
cause, it  was  said,  he  had  "torn,  clawed  and  bitten 
his  way  into  power."  He  had  attacked  and  over- 
thrown so  many  public  servants  of  high  office  that 
he  was  called  "Destroyer  of  Ministries,"  and 
"The  Stormy  Petrel  of  French  Politics."  Of  all 
men  he  was  easily  first  in  the  gentle  art  of  making 
enemies.  Yet  it  came  to  pass  that  in  the  time  of 
her  direst  need,  when  France  feared  that  treach- 
ery or  weakness  at  home  might  bring  defeat  to 
her  heroic  armies  at  the  front,  when  people  said, 
"We  must  have  a  man  whom  all  can  without  the 
shadow  of  a  doubt  trust  to  lead  us  through  this 
war,"  the  country  turned  with  one  accord  to  that 
destructive  force,  and  said:  "Clemenceau  must 
be  our  Premier !  We  know  that  he  will  make  our 
government  safe  for  victory!" 

How  did  it  happen  that  the  destroyer  came  to  be 
hailed  as  the  preserver?  That  is  the  story  of  the 
career  of  the  Tiger  of  France. 

99 


FIGHTEKS  FOR  PEACE 

Georges  Clemeiiceau  was  bora  September  28, 
1841,  iu  a  little  village  of  Brittany.  His  father,  a 
physician  who  cared  more  to  give  his  skill  to  the 
poor  than  to  work  for  the  fees  of  the  rich,  was  an 
ardent  Republican  whose  days  were  embittered  by 
seeing  his  country  fall  into  the  clutches  of  "Na- 
poleon the  Little,"  as  Victor  Hugo  styled  the  up- 
start ruler  of  the  Second  Empire.  He  loved  truth 
and  fair  dealing;  he  also  loved  the  fair  face  of 
Nature— the  changes  and  surprises  of  sunlight  and 
shadow  among  the  trees,  upon  the  water.  In  his 
leisure  moments  when  he  was  not  pondering  over 
some  weighty  problem  concerning  the  government 
of  France  or  of  the  Universe,  he  was  trying  to 
catch  with  his  palette  of  colors  a  bit  of  the  beauty 
that  gladdened  his  eyes. 

The  intense  soul  of  this  father,  who  hated  tyr- 
anny and  shams  no  less  fiercely  than  he  loved  the 
simple  human  heritage  of  quiet  work  and  happy 
play  of  mind  and  heart,  lighted  kindred  fires  in  the 
spirit  of  his  son.  When  the  lad  was  ten  years  of 
age  his  nature  was  stirred  to  the  depths  by  seeing 
his  wise,  kindly  father  led  away,  handcuffed,  to 
prison.  He  had  dared  to  protest  against  the  coup 
d'etat  by  which  at  one  stroke  the  President,  Louis 

100 


THE  "TIGER"  AS  MAN  OF  VICTORY 

Napoleon,  was  exalted  to  the  dizzy  throne  of  Em- 
peror of  France. 

The  boy  threw  his  arms  about  his  father,  whis- 
pering, "Some  day  I  will  avenge  you,  7non  pere." 

"If  you  want  to  really  accomplish  that,  you  will 
have  to  work,  you  know,"  said  the  father,  who 
could  not  return  the  embrace  of  his  son  save  by  a 
long  look,  as  searching  as  it  was  tender.  "Noth- 
ing comes  of  itself  in  this  world;  toil  brings  the 
harvests. ' ' 

The  father  could  not,  however,  by  his  most 
searching  look  discover  anything  particularly 
promising  in  this  son.  He  was  not  a  good  student ; 
at  the  age  of  sixteen  he  knew  little  more  than  many 
lads  of  twelve.  For  only  one  subject  had  he  shown 
real  enthusiasm,  and  that  was  for  the  study  of 
English. 

"Why  do  you  care  more  for  English  than  for 
other  things?"  he  was  asked. 

"Because  I  want  to  read  'Robinson  Crusoe' — all 
of  it,  just  as  it  is — for  myself,"  was  the  amazing 
reply. 

Then,  at  seventeen,  the  boy  had  a  sudden  awak- 
ening. It  seemed  as  if  all  at  once  the  windows  of 
his  mind  were  thrown  open,  and  the  sunshine  of  a 

101 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

world  of  interests  came  flooding  in  to  warm  and 
quicken  him.  He  began  to  read  everything 
eagerly,  hungrily.  The  days  were  not  long  enough 
for  all  the  splendid  possibilities.  If  it  is  true  that 
life  is  measured  by  one's  points  of  contact  with  his 
environment,  then  young  Clemenceau  was  very 
much  alive,  for  there  was  no  corner  of  existence 
without  its  interest  for  him. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  at  nineteen  he  should 
have  decided  without  question  that  he  was  to  be 
a  doctor.  How  could  he  do  better  than  to  follow 
in  the  footsteps  of  his  large-hearted,  keen-minded 
father?  The  study  of  medicine,  therefore,  did  not 
fill  his  days  to  the  exclusion  of  all  else.  There 
was  time  for  books  and  friends ;  there  was  time  for 
strolls  about  Paris,  and,  on  a  Sunday  morning, 
for  real  wanderings  out  beyond  the  streets  into 
the  open  country.  ''The  thoughts  of  youth  are 
long,  long  thoughts,"  and  Georges  Clemenceau 's 
were  given  direction  by  the  strong  convictions  of 
his  "Jacobin"  father. 

Perhaps  he  thought  that  the  hour  had  come  for 
him  to  defy  the  rule  of  kings,  avenging  his  father 
and  all  other  lovers  of  liberty.  At  any  rate  the 
little  paper  which  he  brought  out  with  the  help  of 
Emile  Zola  and  another  radical  companion  was 

102 


THE  *' TIGER"  AS  MAN  OF  VICTORY 

called  '^Le  Travail"  (Work).  Did  he  perhaps 
recall  that  his  father  had  said  on  one  memorable 
occasion  that  work  alone  could  avenge  him  and 
further  his  cause?  It  would  seem  that  this  little 
sheet  was  not  such  a  trifling  **work"  that  it  could 
be  ignored,  for  it  landed  the  three  young  cham- 
pions of  human  rights  in  prison.  After  a  brief 
sojourn  behind  bars,  this  energetic  disciple  of 
medicine  for  the  human  body  and  democracy  for 
the  body  politic,  once  more  called  down  on  his 
rash  head  the  wrath  of  the  imperial  police  by 
shouting  "Vive  la  Republique!"  from  a  point  of 
vantage  on  an  avenue  of  Paris  when  the  gay  city 
was  celebrating  one  of  the  anniversaries  of  the 
fete-loving  Second  Empire. 

''If  you  care  so  much  for  a  republic  that  you 
don't  know  when  to  hold  your  peace  you  might  go 
to  America — the  air  and  the  ideas  there  may  be 
more  to  your  liking,"  he  was  told  meaningly. 

In  brief,  young  Clemenceau  found  himself  an 
exile,  but  instead  of  repining  he  seized  the  op- 
portunity to  make  a  study  of  the  social  institu- 
tions of  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States.  He 
took  with  him  to  America  his  degree  in  medicine, 
some  letters  to  Horace  Greeley,  and  an  alert  in- 
terest in  the  conditions  resulting  from  the  Civil 

103 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

War.  *'My  first  impression  of  Americans,"  he 
said,  "is  that  they  have  excellent  particular  con- 
victions, but  no  general  ideas  and  no  good  cof- 
fee." 

Settling  first  in  New  York  in  1865,  he  put  out 
his  doctor's  shingle,  and  while  waiting  for  a  chance 
to  practice,  wrote  for  "Le  Temps"  a  series  of 
articles  at  once  brisk  and  thoughtful,  describing 
phases  of  the  social  and  political  life  in  America. 

"I  used  to  spend  more  time  in  the  Astor  Library 
than  in  my  professional  habitat  on  West  Twelfth 
Street,  where  it  was  neither  pleasant  nor  profitable 
to  merely  wait  for  patients — the  virtue  of  patience 
is  one  for  which  I  have  never  been  particularly 
noted,"  said  M.  Clemenceau,  his  dark  eyes  light- 
ing up  with  a  smile  which  showed  that  he  took 
some  pleasure  in  his  English  pun.  He  became,  in- 
deed, remarkably  proficient  in  the  language,  which 
he  handled  in  the  American  fashion,  and  really 
well  acquainted  with  American  institutions  and 
ideals. 

There  was  one  institution — a  young  ladies' 
seminary  at  Stamford,  Connecticut — in  which  he 
took  an  especial  interest  for  more  than  one  rea- 
son. It  meant  for  him  first — what  he  needed 
sorely  at  that  time — a  certain  income.     It  meant 

104 


THE  ''TIGER"  AS  MAN  OF  VICTORY 

for  the  young  ladies  a  series  of  talks  on  French 
Literature  and  conversations  with  a  professor  who 
could  be  witty  and  fascinating  in  two  languages. 
It  meant  for  the  canny  schoolmistress  an  oppor- 
tunity for  agreeable  economy,  since  the  French  in- 
structor w^as  also  a  proficient  riding  master. 
"Imagine  the  Tiger  of  France  cantering  across 
country  with  a  bevy  of  charming  American 
mademoiselles,  just  out  of  school  for  a  holiday 
afternoon.  That  was  certainly  a  time  when  one 
might  have  seen  a  smile  on  the  face  of  the  Tiger ! ' ' 
said  an  appreciative  Frenchman.  We  may  con- 
clude that  the  young  professor  w^as  not  wanting  in 
appreciation,  for  when  he  returned  to  France  in 
1870  he  took  with  him  an  American  bride — one 
of  the  fair  pupils  from  the  seminary. 

The  most  spirited  dialogues  in  class  or  on  horse- 
back could  hardly  have  prepared  young  Madame 
Clemenceau  for  the  France  to  which  she  w^as  in- 
troduced. Those  were  tense,  stirring  times  that 
Paris  knew  at  the  close  of  the  war  with  Prussia, 
and  Clemenceau,  who  had  settled  in  the  feverishly 
radical  district  of  Montmartre,  was  from  the  first 
in  the  midst  of  the  excitement.  A  former  com- 
rade, who  now  was  a  member  of  the  Government  of 
National   Defense,   promptly   nominated   the   re- 

105 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

turned  exile  mayor  of  Montmartre,  and  he  at  once 
proved  himself  in  the  turmoil  of  public  affairs  one 
to  the  manner  born.  He  had  strong  convictions, 
and  a  sincerity  and  power  in  presenting  them  that 
carried  conviction  to  others. 

*'One  felt  that  he  had  thought  things  out— he 
knew  where  he  stood  and  why.  Besides  he  cared 
enough  about  a  matter  and  had  resolution  enough, 
to  stand  his  ground  no  matter  what  came  or  went. 
It  was  that  strength  of  purpose  that  made  him  a 
power  in  politics,"  it  was  said. 

In  1871,  he  was  chosen  member  of  the  National 
Assembly  by  96,000  votes.  The  son  of  the 
''Jacobin"  physician  of  Brittany  had  shown  that 
he  could  work,  and  fight  too,  for  the  cause  of  the 
people.  He  was  distinctly  the  man  of  the  hour 
in  the  camp  of  the  radicals. 

Something  occurred  at  this  time  which  stirred 
the  people's  candidate  more  profoundly  than  had 
anything  since  the  day  when  he  saw  his  father  led 
away  to  prison.  He  saw  his  beloved  country  bereft 
of  two  of  her  fairest  daughter-provinces — Alsace 
and  Lorraine.  Bitterly,  desperately,  he  opposed 
the  treaty  that  gave  this  sacred  soil  of  France  into 
the  keeping  of  the  enemy.  It  seemed  that  the 
patriotic  soul  of  Georges  Clemenceau  received  its 

106 


THE  "TIGER"  AS  MAN  OF  VICTORY 

baptism  in  the  fiery  trial  of  that  time.  Ilis  love 
for  Eraiice  became  the  great  passion  of  his  life. 

Years  afterward,  Clemenceau,  the  Premier-pilot 
of  the  good  ship,  "Victory,"  tried  to  tell  about  a 
moment  when  those  who  had  suffered  greatly 
through  the  war  were  moved  by  the  mighty  love 
of  country  out  of  themselves — beyond  the  thought 
of  their  sorrows  and  hardships.  "There  they 
were — "  he  said,  "men,  hats  off,  motionless  as 
statues,  proud  of  becoming  great  through  their 
children.  Mothers,  with  seared  faces,  superbly 
stoic  under  the  eye  of  the  greater  maternity  of  the 
great  country.  The  children  in  the  ecstasy  of 
feeling  about  them  something  greater  than  they 
can  understand,  but  already  certain  that  they  will 
understand  some  day  this  immortal  hour.  And 
not  a  cry,  not  a  word  sounds  in  the  air,  nothing 
but  the  great  silence  of  the  courage  of  all  of  them. 
Then  every  one  goes  away,  firm  and  erect,  to  a 
glorious  destiny.  In  every  heart  La  France  has 
passed."  Do  we  not  divine  in  the  intense  feeling 
of  these  words  something  of  the  ardent  patriotism 
that  thrilled  every  fibre  of  his  being?  In  his 
heart,  too.  La  France  had  passed. 

Only  a  faithful  lover  of  country  and  a  stanch 
champion  of  democracy  could  have  kept  his  ideals 

107 


FIGPITERS  FOR  PEACE 

of  both  undimmed  and  undiminislied  during  the 
period  that  followed  the  downfall  of  the  Second 
Empire  and  the  siege  of  Paris.  As  the  excesses 
of  the  Reign  of  Terror  had  succeeded  the  reign  of 
the  Bourbons,  so  the  bloody  Connnune  avenged 
the  extravagances  and  follies  of  Napoleon  HE. 
Clemenceau's  district  of  Montmartre  was  the 
very  storm  centre  of  mob  violence  and  terrorism. 
Thither,  the  French  President,  Thiers,  who  had 
been  chosen  head  of  the  restored  RepubUc,  dis- 
patched some  troops  of  the  regular  army  under 
the  Generals  Lecomte  and  Clement-Thomas.  In 
the  wild  riot  that  ensued  the  two  commanders  were 
shot.  Political  opponents  of  M.  Clemenceau,  who 
feared  his  growing  influence,  at  once  seized  upon 
this  tragedy  to  bring  about  his  downfall.  For  once 
the  radical  leader  deigned  to  speak  at  length  m  his 
own  defense : 

*'They  accused  me  of  being  an  accomplice  in  the 
murder  of  the  Generals — a  deliberate  falsehood,'* 
he  declared  with  flashing  eyes.  "This  is  what 
really  happened.  Tw^o  hundred  prisoners,  whom 
I  had  to  protect  against  popular  fury,  were  con- 
fined in  the  to\vn-hall  the  day  of  the  murder  of 
the  Generals,  I  could  know  nothing  of  what  was 
going  on  outside.    I  heard  in  a  neighboring  square 

108 


THE  ''TIGER"  AS  MAN  OF  VICTORY 

gay  music  accompanying  the  tramp  of  marcliing 
troops.  I  believed  that  General  Thomas  was 
safely  out  of  France  and  I  knew  that  General  Le- 
comte  was  a  prisoner  at  Chateaurouge,  but  under 
the  care  of  brave  and  determined  men.  About 
three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  a  captain  came  run- 
ning up  and  told  me  that  the  two  generals  had 
been  led  to  a  neighboring  house  and  were  in  great 
and  imminent  danger.  My  duty  was  to  rush  to 
their  assistance;  but  who  would  take  care  of  my 
prisoners!  There  happened  to  be  in  my  office 
one  of  my  young  friends,  a  student ;  to  him  I  dele- 
gated my  powers  and  made  him  per  interim  Mayor 
of  Montmartre  and  hurried  out,  followed  by  the 
Captain,  However,  some  one  stopped  me  and 
said:  'There  is  no  need  of  going  further.  You 
are  too  late.  All  is  done.'  Around  me  I  saw 
looks  of  hatred ;  I  heard  angry  cries  and  shouts  of 
'Treason!  Treason!'  They  believed  that  I  was 
following  the  bloody  policy  of  M.  Thiers.  I  was 
carried  along,  buffeted  by  the  crowd,  threatened 
with  fists  and  revolvers,  and  it  took  me  an  hour 
to  retrace  my  ten-minute  walk  from  the  Mairie." 
Nevertheless  Clemenceau  kept  his  faith  in  the 
free  rule  of  a  free  people,  though  he  believed  that 
growth  could  only  come  through  strenuous  en- 

109 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

deavor  and  struggle.  It  was  as  if  the  words  he 
had  heard  when  a  boy  ''Nothing  comes  of  itself 
in  this  world ;  toil  brings  the  harvests, ' '  found  an 
echo  in  the  convictions  of  the  man.  "There  is  no 
rest  for  free  peoples,"  he  said.  "Rest  is  a  mon- 
archic idea.  The  people  know  no  rest.  If  French 
democracy  is  ripe  for  self-government  it  will  no 
longer  know  rest  nor  the  peace  of  silence." 

Clemenceau,  who  was  chosen  President  of  the 
Municipal  Council  in  1875,  and  in  the  following 
year  elected  member  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies, 
was  from  that  time  forward  the  determined  and 
fearless  leader  of  the  most  advanced  party  of  the 
French  Government. 

Since  he  was  a  servant  of  the  people  and  of  his 
country,  he  tried  to  keep  the  public  in  touch  with 
what  concerned  them  and  the  honor  and  glory  of 
France.  His  papers  "La  Justice,"  "L'Aurore" 
and  later  "L 'Homme  Libre"  were  read  for  the 
keen,  direct  criticisms  and  interpretations  of  the 
vital  issues  of  the  moment  given  in  his  leading 
editorials.  We  may  say  that  his  influence  through 
his  speeches  and  debates,  and  with  the  wider  public 
who  hung  upon  his  printed  words,  was  due  to  the 
clear-cut,  positive  character  of  all  he  said.     He 

110 


THE  ''TIGER"  AS  MAN  OF  VICTORY 

never  hedged,  qualified,  nor  veiled  bis  statements 
with  half-negations. 

'*He  isn't  planning  to  change  his  position  to- 
morrow," people  said.  "He  's  an  honest  man,  if 
a  hard  one.  We  can  be  sure  of  one  politician  who 
puts  love  of  country  before  gain;  he  does  n't  care 
how  many  enemies  he  makes  if  he  can  bring  to 
pass  the  right  thing." 

His  opponents  called  him  a  ''parliamentary 
swashbuckler,  without  principles  and  without 
prejudices."  But  he  kept  on,  serenely  secure  in 
the  faith  that,  while  petty  politicians  have  their 
little  day  and  "there  is  no  rest  for  free  peoples," 
still  democracy  is  safe  since  it  is  impossible  to  de- 
lude all  the  people  all  the  time. 

To  one  of  his  ardent  champions  who  protested 
against  a  particularly  bitter  attack  upon  the  hon- 
esty of  his  chief,  M.  Clemenceau  said: 

"My  young  friend,  when  one  has  heard  for 
many  years  under  his  windows  the  cry  ' Demand ez 
le  suicide  de  M.  Clemenceau!'  there  must  be  in  life 
certain  things  which  leave  one  perfectly  indiffer- 
ent." 

He  had  faith  that  honest  purpose  would  prove 
itself  and  that  deeds  would  speak  when  words  were 

111 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

forgotten.  His  impatience  with  speech-making 
when  the  time  had  come  for  action  is  shown  in 
the  address  of  classic  brevity  with  which  he  opened 
the  Allied  Conference  at  Paris: 

**  Gentlemen,  we  are  here  to  work.  Let  us 
work. ' ' 

Was  it  because  Clemenceau  was  determined  to 
prove  that  ''there  is  no  rest  for  free  peoples"  by 
keeping  things  continually  at  fever  heat,  that  he 
attacked  the  victims  of  his  censure  without  fear  or 
mercy  and  won  the  name  of  *'the  Tiger"!  The 
people  came  to  feel  that  it  was  because  he  loved 
France  better  than  any  consideration  of  self-in- 
terest, and  that  he  dared  everything  in  her  serv- 
ice. They  said:  ''It  is  always  something  that  is 
wrong  or  weak  or  stupid  that  he  attacks — some- 
thing that  another  man  less  keen  or  zealous  would 
shrug  his  shoulders  over  and  let  pass.  Clemen- 
ceau, the  tiger  of  politicians,  is  the  watch-dog  of 
France!" 

Men,  wise  in  the  weather  signs  of  political  possi- 
bilities, said:  "Clemenceau  is  without  doubt  the 
strongest  man  in  public  life,  but  he  has  made  too 
many  enemies  to  ever  come  into  power." 

In  1906,  however,  he  was  appointed  Minister 
of  the  Interior,  and  in  the  same  year  Prime  Min- 

112 


Photograph  by  Press  Illustrating  Service,  Inc. 

(iEORGE.S  CLE.MEXCEAU 
Premier  of  France 


THE  ''TIGEK"  AS  MAN  OF  VICTORY 

ister.  For  a  momeut  his  enemies  were  silenced, 
but  when  he  went  out  of  power  three  years  later 
they  exulted  confidently:  ''That  is  the  last  of  the 
swashbuckler!" 

But  it  came  to  pass,  as  we  have  seen,  that  at 
the  time  of  the  greatest  crisis  France  had  ever 
known,  the  call  of  the  people  was  so  strong  and  so 
insistent,  that  President  Poincaire,  (who  had  fre- 
quently been  the  subject  of  attack  in  the  Tiger's 
editorials)  asked  M.  Clemenceau  to  once  again 
take  the  helm  as  Premier.  The  call  came  also  di- 
rectly, pleadingly,  from  the  people.  Some  of  the 
appeals  touched  the  veteran  statesman  pro- 
foundly; it  was  a  very  mild  ''Tiger"  indeed  who 
read  the  petition  of  the  women  of  Normandy: 

*'We,  women  of  France,  mothers,  wives,  sisters 
of  the  brave  soldiers  of  Normandy,  profoundly  in- 
dignant at  the  scandal  of  the  treachery  of  those 
who  strike  our  brave  loved  ones  in  the  back  while 
offering  their  blood  so  valiantly  to  our  dear  native 
land, — to  you,  tireless  fighter,  champion  of  justice, 
Frenchman  and  patriot,  we  appeal.  We  rally  un- 
der your  flag,  the  emblem  of  energy ;  we  have  faith 
in  your  standard." 

On  the  day  of  November,  1917,  when  the  new 
Premier — "the  best  hated  statesman  of  the  Re- 

113 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

public"  and  the  best  trusted— arose  to  make  his 
statement  in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  it  seemed  as 
if  the  country  fairly  held  its  breath.  ''The 
Tiger ' '  himself  was  visibly  moved.  The  dark  eyes 
in  the  yellow-ivory  face  smouldered  with  an  in- 
tenser  fire,  and  it  seemed  as  if  one  could  see  the 
lips  under  the  drooping  gray  mustache  whiten. 

"I  am  almost  afraid  to  think  what  is  expected 
of  me, ' '  he  said.  ' '  But  this  you  know :  I  am  an  old 
man.  I  have  nothing  to  gain  for  myself  by  being 
where  I  am.  My  one  thought  is  for  France, 
bloody  in  her  glory.  What  are  my  war  aims,  you 
ask.     I  have  only  one — to  win!" 

The  people  were  electrified.  The  passion  of  in- 
tense purpose  that  quivered  in  his  face,  in  his 
voice,  stirred  their  hearts  and  strengthened  the  will 
to  win.     Victory  seemed  near. 

France,  "bloody  in  her  glory,"  held  her  head 
high,  facing  the  future  with  confidence.  The  en- 
ergy and  optimism  of  the  man  at  the  helm  had 
heartened  all  of  the  people  at  a  time  when  enemies 
abroad  and  traitors  at  home  had  sown  the  tares 
of  ''defeatism"  on  every  hand. 

One  wondered  perhaps  now  and  again  if  the 
former  leader  of  the  opposition,  who  had  pro- 
tested against  the  press  censorship  in  political 

114 


THE  ''TIGER"  AS  MAN  OF  VICTORY 

matters  by  changing  the  name  of  his  paper 
**L 'Homme  Libre"  (The  Free  Man)  to 
*'L 'Homme  Enchaine"  (The  Man  in  Irons), 
might  have  liked  a  little  freedom  from  instant 
comment  and  criticism  now  that  he  was  at  the 
post  of  command.  The  paper  founded  and  made 
famous  by  him  was  once  more  appearing  under 
the  name  ''L 'Homme  Libre,"  and  all  other  publi- 
cations were  free  from  censorship  save  in  military 
matters.  There  were,  of  course,  many  who  ques- 
tioned and  attacked  the  measures  of  the  new  Pre- 
mier. Before  long,  however,  his  vigorous,  fearless 
policy  and  his  genius  for  administration  brought 
results  that  justified  the  faith  of  the  people  and 
silenced  his  political  enemies. 

One  of  his  first  acts  was  to  bring  to  justice  Cail- 
laux,  (at  one  time  Premier  and  for  several  terms 
Minister  of  Finance),  and  other  arch-traitors  to 
France  who  had  been  tools  and  accomplices  of 
German  agents  in  spreading  propaganda  of  pes- 
simism and  ''defeatism,"  designed  to  lead  France 
and  Italy  to  make  an  immediate  peace.  Evidence 
that  certain  men  prominent  in  the  world  of  busi- 
ness and  finance  had  received  money  from  Count 
von  Bernstorff,  former  German  ambassador  to 
"Washington,  for  the  subsidizing  of  newspapers, 

115 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

had  been  unearthed  in  America ;  but  two  succes- 
sive Ministers  of  the  Interior  failed  to  take  any 
decisive  action.  Caillaux  and  his  fellow  conspira- 
tors had  too  many  friends  among  the  rich  and 
powerful.  It  was  in  this  stress  that  the  people 
had  turned  to  Clemenceau,  confident  in  his  loyalty 
to  France  and  his  fearless  honesty.  Caillaux  had 
been,  indeed,  a  former  political  colleague  and 
closely  associated  with  him  in  many  matters  of 
policy.  When  Clemenceau  was  made  Premier  in 
1906  he  had  selected  Caillaux  as  Minister  of  Fi- 
nance. Now  he  was  the  one  man  on  whom  the 
country  could  rely  to  hunt  down  this  dangerous 
conspirator,  and  to  stamp  out  his  plots.  The 
* '  Tiger ' '  was  truly  the  watch-dog  of  France. 

Clemenceau  brought  to  his  task  as  administrator 
a  solid  knowledge  of  statecraft  garnered  through 
many  years  from  the  time  when  as  a  youth  he  had 
dreamed  of  serving  the  cause  of  the  people.  His 
studies  in  England  and  America  had  given  him 
grasp  and  perspective.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  he  had  followed  closely  the  drama  of  politics 
in  the  United  States  during  the  period  of  Recon- 
struction following  the  Civil  War.  He  recalled 
frequently  many  interesting  phases  of  the  history 
of  that  time,  painting  a  vivid  picture  of  the  first 

116 


THE  "TIGER"  AS  MAN  OF  VICTORY 

meeting  of  Virginia's  negro  legislature.  All  of 
the  trials  and  changes  that  marked  the  course  of 
events  during  the  troublous  Third  Republic  of 
France  had  left  their  impress.  Endowed  with  a 
remarkably  tenacious  memory,  he  seemed  to  de- 
rive his  power  as  a  statesman  as  much  from  his 
practical  assimilation  of  the  results  of  experience, 
which  meant  vitality  and  breadth  of  grasp,  as 
from  his  unflagging  zeal  in  attacking  the  various 
factors  of  the  immediate  situation  that  confronted 
him. 

Chosen  in  the  dark  moment  of  crisis  of  warring 
hopes  and  fears,  Clemenceau  justified  the  faith  of 
his  countrj-men  by  steering  a  straight  course  to 
a  reasonable,  fortified  optimism  and  the  port  of 
Victory.  The  ' '  Tiger ' '  was  so  absolutely  the  man 
of  the  hour  that  it  was  hard  to  even  imagine  the 
time  when  France  did  not  have  the  assurance  of 
his  strong  hand  at  the  helm.  *'He  so  fits  the  place 
and  the  needs  of  the  country,  that  it  seems  as  if 
he  has  been  there  always,"  people  said.  ''The 
former  time  is  like  a  half-forgotten  nightmare." 

I  like  to  picture  the  Premier  among  the  soldiers. 
As  chairman  of  the  Senate  Army  Committee  and 
as  a  journalist  he  had  often  gone  to  the  front  and 
mingled  freely  with  the  men,  who  adored  him. 

117 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

As  Prime  Minister  he  went  even  oftener.  Peo- 
ple marvelled  at  the  inexhaustible  energy  of  the 
man;  for  he  seemed  always  at  the  front  and  yet 
never  away  from  Paris.  One  of  the  trenches  was 
named  Le  Tigre  in  his  honor,  and  when  his  fa- 
miliar gray,  mud-stained  motor  made  its  way  back 
to  the  city  there  was  often  tucked  away  in  it  some 
token  of  a  poilu's  devotion — a  pipe,  perhaps,  or 
a  walking-stick,  lovingly  carved  by  one  of  '*his 
children. ' ' 

Frequently  the  officers  remonstrated  with  him 
for  rashly  exposing  himself  to  danger.  He  even 
refused  to  wear  a  steel  helmet  until  the  men  about 
him  doffed  theirs.  Then,  protesting  and  scolding, 
he  consented  to  protect  the  head  that  was  guiding 
the  destinies  of  France. 

"As  if  my  bald  pate  mattered!"  he  said,  look- 
ing for  a  long  moment,  Hamlet-like,  at  a  heap  of 
the  slain.  "My  old  carcass  there f  What  an  end 
it  would  be ! " 

Always  a  lover  of  Nature,  the  Premier  finds  rest 
and  renewal  of  strength  in  the  garden  of  his  Paris 
home.  "He  will  always  be  young  because  his  in- 
terests are  so  keen,"  said  one  of  his  friends.  "It 
is  impossible  to  even  imagine  the  indifference  that 
is  age  creeping  upon  him.     In  his  make-up  the 

118 


THE  ** TIGER"  AS  MAN  OF  VICTORY 

temperament  of  the  artist  and  the  spirit  of  the  sci- 
entist are  perfectly  blended.  Feeling  and  under- 
standing go  hand  in  hand." 

As  Clemenceau  talks  about  his  flowers,  his 
chickens,  Japanese  art,  or  the  great  moment  when 
General  Foch  was  put  in  command  of  the  armies, 
he  is  interesting  and  delightful,  but  when  he  talks 
about  the  soldiers  of  France  he  is  another  man. 
His  piercing  eyes  become  tender;  voice  and  ges- 
ture alike  betray  the  depth  of  his  feeling. 

He  is  describing  a  visit  to  the  trenches:  "We 
go  dowm  into  the  ground,"  he  says,  "and  there 
we  are  protected  from  the  'marmites'  in  a  dark 
corridor  lit  by  candles  stuck  into  the  mouths  of 
German  gas  masks.  We  sit  down  on  anything 
handy  (I  even  have  the  favor  of  a  chair),  before 
a  board  which  also  serves  as  the  colonel's  bed, 
while  arms  whose  body  remains  invisible  serve  us 
with  dishes  not  to  be  disdained  by  a  gormand. 
How  did  they  get  there?  I  cannot  undertake  to 
explain  that.  The  walk  in  the  open  air,  the  tragic 
nature  of  the  place,  the  joy  in  land  reconquered, 
no  doubt  all  lend  particular  spice  to  the  comrade- 
ship of  these  men  w4io  forget  that  they  have  done 
great  deeds  as  soon  as  they  have  done  them." 

They  say  that  the  name  of  the  "Tiger"  cannot 
119 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

now  be  properly  applied  to  the  Man  of  Victory. 
His  great  constructive  work  for  France,  his  whole- 
hearted tenderness  for  the  soldiers — for  all  who 
have  suffered  through  the  war — have  left  no  room 
for  thought  of  the  tearing  and  rending  of  political 
strife.  He  no  longer  seems  the  embodiment  of 
the  France  of  bitter  rivalry  and  struggle,  but  of 
the  old  France  of  romance  and  beauty,  the  new 
France  of  strength  and  heroism,  the  undymg 
France  of  glory  and  power.  He  will  be  remem- 
bered not  as  the  "Tiger,"  but  as  the  lover  of 
France  and  the  Premier  of  Victory. 


120 


THE  MAN  BEHIND  THE  GUNS' 
DAVID  LLOYD  GEORGE 


There  are  rare  epochs  in  the  history  of  the  world  when  in  a 
few  raging  years  the  character,  the  destiny  of  the  whole  race,  is 
determined  for  unknown  ages.  This  is  one.  The  winter  wheat 
is  being  sown.  It  is  better,  it  is  surer,  it  is  more  bountiful  in 
its  harvest,  than  when  it  is  sown  in  the  soft  spring  time. 
There  are  many  storms  to  pass  through,  there  are  many  frosts 
to  endure,  before  the  land  brings  forth  its  green  promise.  But 
let  us  not  be  weary  in  well  doing,  for  in  due  season  we  shall 
reap  if  we  faint  not. 

David  Lloyd  George. 


THE  MAN  BEHIND  THE  GUNS 

WHEN  David  Lloyd  George,  thou  an  eager, 
alert,  young  candidate  for  the  law,  went 
to  London  to  present  himself  for  his  final  examina- 
tion, he  heard  his  first  debate  in  Parliament. 
Gladstone  had  made  a  stirring,  impassioned  speech 
that  completely  cowed  the  Opposition  leaders  into 
silence;  it  seemed  as  if  nothing  more  could  be 
said.  Then  a  slender  young  member  arose,  strode 
into  the  middle  of  the  floor,  snapped  his  fingers  in 
the  face  of  the  Grand  Old  Man,  and  scornfully, 
vigorously,  assailed  his  position.  *'I  hated  hira 
for  it,"  said  Mr.  Lloyd  George  years  afterward, 
'  *  I  hated  him,  but  I  felt  it  was  fine ;  it  was  splen- 
did." 

There  spoke  the  man  who  dearly  loved  a  fight 
for  its  own  sake  as  well  as  for  its  cause.  The 
greater  the  difficulty,  the  more  powerful  the  ad- 
versary, the  better  he  liked  it.  It  was  to  him  the 
real  measure  of  a  man  and  of  the  integrity  of  his 
convictions. 

''Indifference  is  the  great  foe,"  he  used  to  say. 
123 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

'*It  is  easier  to  let  things  alone  than  to  bother 
about  changing  them.  That  is  at  bottom  why  all 
sorts  of  evils  hold  sway.  Nobody  cares  enough 
to  do  anything.  Then  along  comes  a  man  with 
a  strong  conviction  or  two ;  he  knows  instinctively 
that  the  only  way  to  get  anything  done  is  to  raise 
a  row.  And  being  the  sort  that  never  runs  away, 
he  plunges  in  and  wins." 

Two  years  before  the  occasion  of  the  Gladstone 
debate,  on  his  first  visit  to  the  House  of  Commons, 
the  lad  of  nineteen  felt  sure  that  he  would  one  day 
have  a  place  there.  He  wrote  in  his  diary: 
''Went  to  the  Houses  of  Parliament.  Grand 
buildings  outside,  but  inside  very  crabbed,  small 
and  suffocating,  especially  the  House  of  Commons. 
I  will  not  say  but  I  eyed  the  assembly  in  a  spirit 
similar  to  that  in  which  William  the  Conqueror 
eyed  England  on  his  visit  to  Edward  the  Confessor 
as  the  region  of  his  future  domain.     O  vanity!" 

It  was  more  than  ambition,  however,  stirring 
within  the  young  Welshman  that  made  him  sure 
of  his  calling.  There  was  also  a  very  strong  and 
definite  resolution.  For  the  two  great  passions  of 
his  soul — love  of  humanity  and  hatred  of  every 
form  of  tyranny  and  oppression — were  strong 
within  him  even  as  a  child,  and  when  he  arrived 

124 


THE  MAN  BEHIND  THE  GUNS 

at  man's  estate  his  work  was  waitiug  for  him. 

David  Lloyd  George  was  born  January  17,  1863, 
in  Manchester,  England,  where  his  Welsh  father 
had  gone  to  try  his  success  at  teaching.  But  not 
finding  the  opportunity  for  happy  work  and  study 
of  which  he  had  dreamed,  he  turned  back  to  the 
soil,  hoping  to  regain  his  health  and  have  more 
time  for  his  books  than  there  had  been  in  the 
smoky  city.  He  had  hardly  made  his  new  start, 
however,  when  a  sudden  illness  carried  him  away 
from  his  little  family.  .  .  .  David's  earliest  mem- 
ory was  of  a  crowd  gathered  about  his  home.  All 
their  household  goods — tables,  chairs  and  beds — 
were  piled  out  of  doors  with  the  plows,  harrows, 
and  other  things  that  his  father  had  used  on  the 
farm.  How  strange  and  pitiful  they  looked  there 
in  a  heap  on  the  grass!  There  was  a  noisy  man 
standing  by  pointing  at  them,  and  then  people 
began  to  carry  them  off.  The  light  in  the  child's 
dark  blue  eyes  changed  from  fear  to  anger  as 
he  saw  some  one  pick  up  his  favorite  chair.  With 
his  sister's  help  he  began  to  put  stones  under 
the  gate  to  keep  the  people  from  getting  out  with 
all  the  things  of  their  little  world. 

He  was  only  three  years  old  and  he  could  not 
understand  what  it  all  meant,  but  he  knew  that 

125 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

his  mother  was  very  unhappy.  He  was  sad,  too, 
and  lonely  without  his  father.  Then  in  the  midst 
of  their  trouble  came  his  uncle,  Richard  Lloyd, 
and  somehow  the  world  seemed  a  safe,  warm  place 
again. 

"You  are  all  coming  to  make  a  home  with  me— 
for  me,"  he  said  to  his  sister. 

It  was  a  happy  home  in  the  little  village  of 
North  Wales  between  the  mountains  and  the  sea. 
The  cottage,  made  of  stones  taken  from  the  fields, 
seemed  truly  a  part  of  that  beautiful  land  of 
craggy  peaks,  green  meadows,  and  sparkling 
streams.  It  is  small  wonder  that  this  seemed  to 
David  God's  own  country,  and  its  sturdy  people 
the  very  elect  of  the  earth.  For  the  boy's  pas- 
sionate love  of  mountains  and  glens  was  never  a 
thing  apart  from  his  love  of  people.  Like  the 
Scotch  poet  he  held  that  "an  honest  man  's  the 
noblest  work  of  God";  and  down  deep  in  his  heart 
he  believed  that  Welsh  people  were  a  bit  truer 
as  well  as  a  bit  cleverer  than  other  people. 

Next  to  the  cottage  was  the  little  shop  with  the 
sign  "Richard  Lloyd,  Shoemaker"  swinging  over 
the  door.  His  uncle  was  truly  a  wonderful  man; 
he  seemed  to  tower  over  all  the  other  people  as 
Snowdon  rose  over  the  other  mountains.    While 

126 


THE  MAN  BEHIND  THE  GUNS 

he  hammered  away  at  his  bench — for  it  took  steady 
work  to  provide  for  three  hungry  children — he 
yet  found  time  to  take  an  interest  in  the  joys  and 
sorrows  of  his  neighbors.  ...  A  farmer  lad  who 
was  in  disgrace  for  trapping  a  hare  came  in  for 
counsel  and  comfort.  It  seemed  that  all  the  wild 
creatures  of  wood  and  field  belonged  exclusively 
to  the  squire,  who  cared  more  for  his  rights  to 
the  game  than  for  the  people  who  lived  on  his 
land.  Another  came  to  tell  of  his  hard  work  to 
improve  the  soil  and  repair  his  house,  and  then 
how  he  had  been  told  to  leave  the  farm  because 
he  had  refused  to  vote  as  the  squire  wished.  It 
seemed  that  there  were  some  people  of  privilege 
— people  who  could  not  even  speak  Welsh — who 
yet  had  the  power  to  order  all  the  ways  of  Welsh- 
men, to  tell  them  what  to  do,  where  to  go  to  church 
and  how  to  vote. 

David  was  very  proud  of  his  uncle  because  he 
did  not  go  to  the  church  where  the  clergyman 
read  prayers  in  English,  but  instead  went  to  his 
own  chapel  at  Criccieth,  a  mile  distant.  No  one 
knew  more  about  the  Bible  than  his  Uncle  Rich- 
ard, and  no  one  knew  more  about  the  ways  of  the 
Government.  Every  evening  David  walked  to 
Criccieth  to  get  a  copy  of  the  Liverpool  paper, 

127 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

and  as  he  marched  home,  breathing  in  the  air 
that  had  the  tang  of  the  ocean  as  well  as  the 
freshness  of  the  mountains,  he  read  with  eager 
excitement  the  news  of  the  war  between  Russia 
and  Turkey;  but  when  he  got  home  and  his  uncle 
read  the  accounts  of  the  debates  in  Parliament, 
that  seemed  even  more  interesting.  He  followed 
the  fortunes  of  the  big  bills  as  if  they  were  battles 
where  the  leaders  of  the  parties  were  the  generals. 
He  gathered  that  the  landowners  were  mostly  Con- 
servatives, that  they  wished  to  conserve  the  cus- 
toms of  the  past  with  all  their  privileges  of  the 
present ;  and  he  knew  that  the  Liberals  were  those 
who  thought  some  changes  were  necessary  in  order 
to  give  the  poor  people  a  chance. 

In  1868,  there  was  an  exciting  election  in  that 
little  corner  of  Wales ;  for  the  first  time  a  Liberal 
carried  the  day.  Then  as  an  aftermath  came  no- 
tices to  a  number  of  the  independent  voters  to 
quit  their  farms,  for,  so  the  papers  read,  "it  is 
not  right  you  should  allow  yourself  to  be  led  by 
others  to  vote  against  the  interests  of  the  estate 
on  which  you  live  and  against  the  wishes  of  his 
lordship." 

The  memory  of  that  glorious  triumph  when  he 
had  carried  a  flag  and  shouted  himself  hoarse  was 

128 


THE  MAN  BEHIND  THE  GUNS 

not  more  vivid  in  the  child's  mind  than  the  tragedy 
which  succeeded  it  of  men  turned  out  on  the  road- 
side because  they  had  dared  to  vote  as  they 
thouglit  right.  That  was,  as  he  often  said,  his 
first  memory  of  politics. 

**Thc  village  smithy  was  my  first  parliament," 
he  said.  "Here  we  gathered  on  winter  evenings 
in  the  red  glow  of  the  fire  to  discuss  all  the  prob- 
lems of  Wales  and  her  neighbors  in  this  world 
and  the  next." 

One  can  easily  picture  the  scene, — the  elderly 
smith,  like  a  Druid  majestic  in  his  strength,  and 
sitting  about  in  the  firelight  the  group  of  villagers 
discussing  the  daily  news,  religion  and  politics, 
and,  when  their  spirits  were  high,  taking  up  the 
refrain  of  one  of  the  stirring  Welsh  airs.  Is  it 
any  wonder  that  David,  a  boy  who  early  gave 
proof  of  a  keen  mind  and  a  quick  wit,  should  have 
been  much  influenced  by  the  talk  of  these  stalwart 
men  whose  convictions  came  at  white  heat  from 
the  forge  of  hard  experience? 

Sometimes  the  magic  of  the  firelight  cast  its 
spell  on  the  imagination  as  the  legends  of  Wales 
were  told  and  the  odes  of  the  bards  recited.  There 
was  the  story  of  the  Crags  of  the  Eagles  in  wliose 
shadow    they    lived.  .  .  .  Vortigern,    an    ancient 

129 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

King  of  Britain,  it  was  said,  tried  to  build  a 
stronghold  on  that  spot  but  the  stones  refused 
to  cleave  together.  Then  the  wizard,  Merlin,  bade 
him  dig  deep  below  the  spot  of  his  wall  to  find 
the  reason  of  his  defeat.  There  they  discovered 
two  sleeping  dragons,  one  white  and  the  other 
red.  The  first.  Merlin  said,  was  the  sjTnbol  of 
the  invading  Saxons,  while  the  other  stood  for 
the  race  of  Britain.  So  it  is  that  to  this  day  the 
red  dragon  is  the  emblem  of  Wales,  signifying 
its  individual  strength  that  refuses  to  be  swal- 
lowed up  or  absorbed  by  any  other  nation.  .  .  . 
The  legends  declared,  too,  that  many  heroes  would 
come  from  the  land  of  the  Eagles  to  the  defense 
of  the  fair  hills  and  the  green  valleys  of  Wales. 
David  may  have  dreamed  that  he  was  of  the  eagle 
brood ;  at  any  rate  he  knew  that  some  day  he  would 
fight  valiantly  for  the  rights  of  his  country.  So 
it  was  that  David  Lloyd  George,  champion  of 
the  Welsh  National  Party,  and  defender  of  the 
downtrodden  poor  against  class  privilege  and  op- 
pression, came  into  his  own. 

Before  David  had  completed  the  course  that  the 
village  school  offered,  Richard  Lloyd  had  faced 
the  question  of  his  future.  He  knew  that  he  had 
an  exceptionally  able  lad  in  his  keeping.    ''The 

130 


THE  MAN  BEHIND  THE  GUNS 

boy  must  have  a  chance,"  he  said  to  his  sister. 
"He  should  by  rights  be  a  lawyer.  I  have  a  bit 
of  money  laid  by  against  the  time  I  am  too  old 
to  work  at  my  bench;  that  will  serve  to  start  our 
David  on  his  way." 

But  it  was  a  long  road  to  qualifying  as  a  solici- 
tor, and  there  were  many  fees;  the  money  would 
not  stretch  over  all  the  demands.  Richard  Lloyd 
saw  the  need  of  still  further  effort.  Valiantly 
he  set  himself  to  work  with  grammars  and  exer- 
cise books  to  master  the  rudiments  of  Latin  and 
French  in  order  that  he  might  himself  serve  as 
instructor  to  his  nephew.  Bravely  they  struggled 
on  together,  and,  when  David  was  twenty-one 
and  the  uncle 's  little  pile  of  savings  all  spent,  the 
end  for  which  they  had  labored  was  at  hand.  He 
passed  with  honors  his  examinations  and  was  en- 
rolled as  solicitor.  There  was  only  one  lack — 
three  guineas  to  buy  his  lawyer's  robe  without 
which  he  could  not  appear  in  the  local  courts. 
''That  is  nothing,"  said  David.  "A  few  weeks* 
humble  work  in  an  office  shall  furnish  my  garment 
of  dignity." 

Young  Lloyd  George  was  an  immediate  success 
as  a  solicitor.  He  really  cared  about  his  cases 
and  his  clients,  and  he  threw  himself  into  his  work 

131 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

with  energy  and  ardor.  His  keen  mind  at  once 
seized  the  essential  features  and  his  ready  wit 
enabled  him  to  make  the  most  of  each  point.  At 
twenty-five  he  awoke  to  find  himself  famous  for 
his  daring  and  successful  handling  of  a  case  that 
had  attracted  wide  attention.  He  had  proved  him- 
self a  true  champion  of  the  poor  against  unreason- 
able customs  and  petty  tyrannies. 

Two  years  later,  Lloyd  George  was  sent  to  repre- 
sent his  home  district  in  Parliament,  defeating 
the  squire  of  the  countryside  to  whom  as  a  boy 
he  had  deferentially  touched  his  cap.  Many  said 
at  the  time,  "The  young  upstart  has  had  his  little 
day.  He  thinks  that  his  local  success  proves  him 
a  leader,  but  as  he  has  gone  up  like  a  rocket  he 
must  come  down  like  a  stick."  But  the  boy  who 
at  nineteen  had  looked  down  from  the  gallery  at 
the  House  of  Commons  as  the  field  of  his  future 
domain,  knew  that  his  career  had  only  begun. 

Lloyd  George's  early  years  in  Parliament  were 
in  the  main  stormy  ones.  It  seemed  to  many  that 
he  was  desperately  seeking  notoriety  by  his  rebel 
attitude  even  towards  the  leaders  of  his  own  party. 
A  Liberal  himself,  he  again  and  again  dared  to 
put  himself  and  his  championship  of  Wales  to 
the  fore  against  the  leadership  of  the  mighty  Glad- 

132 


THE  MAX  BEHIND  THE  GUNS 

stone.  And  later  when  Joseph  Chamberlain  was 
the  party  chief,  he  moved  that  man  of  steel  to 
wrath  on  more  than  one  occasion. 

It  is  only  in  the  light  of  Lloyd  George's  whole 
career  that  we  can  judge  aright  those  insurgent 
years  when  he  seemed  moved  by  "the  imp  of  the 
perverse"  to  give  as  much  trouble  as  possible. 
He  was  a  man  with  a  mission.  Knowing  as  he 
did  the  wrongs  of  the  poor,  realizing  how  they 
were  bound  down  by  laws  and  customs  which 
served  the  interests  of  those  at  the  top,  he  was 
all  afire  with  zeal  to  bring  about  some  changes 
that  would  strike  ao  the  root  of  existing  injustices. 
For  instance  the  people  of  Wales  should  not  be 
compelled  to  support  an  expensive  established 
church,  which  they,  as  members  of  various  otlier 
religious  bodies,  did  not  want.  There  should  be 
home  rule  for  Wales  in  order  that  all  of  her  affairs 
might  be  directed  by  those  immediately  concerned. 
There  should  be  better  educational  opportunities 
for  the  mass  of  the  people.  There  should  be  read- 
justment of  the  burden  of  taxation  which  rested 
most  heavily  on  those  least  able  to  bear  it.  Tliese 
were  some  of  the  things  for  which  he  fought  in 
season  and  out,  for  he  could  not  abide  leisurely, 
routine  procedure  when  he  was  so  fiercely  alive 

133 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

to  the  needs  of  the  people  he  had  known  all  his 
life.  And  while  he  was  looked  upon  by  the  leaders, 
who  were  working  to  carry  out  what  they  con- 
sidered a  safe  and  sane  program  for  the  welfare 
of  the  nation,  as  a  most  presumptuous  and  un- 
comfortable member,  his  influence  began  to  be  felt. 
It  was  generally  conceded  that  he  was  a  force  to 
be  reckoned  with. 

During  those  years  of  struggle  Lloyd  George 
was  growing.  While  ever  an  ardent  champion  of 
Wales,  he  was  able  now  to  see  beyond  the  horizon 
of  local  interests  and  embrace  in  his  sjTupathies 
the  problems  that  concerned  the  country  at  large. 
It  was  soon  evident,  moreover,  that  he  was  able 
to  take  a  still  broader  view,  and  consider  the 
affairs  of  his  nation  in  relation  to  the  rights  of 
other  peoples.  His  attitude  at  the  time  of  the 
Boer  War  showed  this  larger  understanding  and 
at  the  same  time  proved  that  his  sympathy  with 
the  under  dog  was  stronger  than  any  self  interest. 

For  a  time  Lloyd  George  was  the  best  hated 
man  in  England.  He  dared  to  declare  that  his 
country  was  wrong  in  making  war  against  a 
small,  struggling  people  even  though  there  had 
been  much  cause  for  provocation.  He  showed  that 
his  patriotism  was  not  of  the  kind  that  says  *'My 

134 


THE  MAN  BEHIND  THE  GUNS 

country  always,  right  or  wrong!"  But  feeling 
was  running  high  in  England  just  then,  and  in 
the  heat  of  the  moment  he  could  only  seem  a 
traitor  to  the  land  that  had  nurtured  him.  "When 
he  dared  to  appear  in  the  home  town  of  Cham- 
berlain to  attack  his  war  policy  the  fury  of  the 
people  passed  all  bounds.  A  riot  ensued  and  the 
rash  Welshman  narrowly  escaped  a  violent  end 
by  getting  out  of  the  hall  in  the  clothes  of  a  police- 
man, who  found  that  only  in  this  way  was  the 
protection  of  the  law  of  any  avail.  The  general 
feeling  may  be  indicated  by  a  remark  made  to 
Mr.  Chamberlain. 

"So  your  friends  were  not  able  to  get  rid  of 
Lloyd  George  the  other  night,"  said  a  member 
of  the  House  in  passing  his  chief  in  the  lobby. 

''What  is  everybody's  business  is  nobody's 
business,"  replied  Mr.  Chamberlain  with  a  real 
glint  in  his  eyes. 

The  sure  place  that  this  unpopular  statesman 
held  with  his  own  people  was  proved  by  the  fact 
that  he  was  reelected  in  the  very  midst  of  the 
general  hue  and  cry.  The  public  gasped.  They 
wouldn't  have  expected  that  even  of  an  obscure 
little  corner  like  Wales.  And  it  was  not  long 
before   another   surprise   was   upon   them.     The 

135 


P^IGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

new  Liberal  Premier,  Sir  Henry  Campbell-Banner- 
man,  picked  out  Lloyd  George  for  one  of  the 
minor  positions  in  his  cabinet — president  of  the 
Board  of  Trade.  What  could  a  sane  man  bo 
thinking  about  to  put  an  untamed  free-lance  and 
hotblood  like  Lloyd  George  in  any  post  of  respon- 
sibility? 

''We  must  have  new  blood — men  who  will  not 
be  afraid  to  blaze  new  trails,"  said  the  Prime 
Minister. 

It  was  soon  evident  that  they  had  such  a  man 
in  the  little  Welshman.  He  proved  unexpectedly 
that  he  was  something  more  than  an  agitator — a 
man  who  could  think  things  out  clearly  to  a  finish 
and  then  work  ahead  until  something  was  actually 
done.  It  seemed  that  he  was  capable  of  solid, 
constructive  work;  and  that,  moreover,  he  could 
deal  with  people  in  a  new  way.  Belligerency  had 
given  place  to  tact  and  courtesy.  His  skill  in 
handling  a  labor  crisis  which  threatened  to  tie  up 
all  the  railroads  in  the  United  Kingdom  won  for 
him  general  acclaim.  Facing  the  question  fairly 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  needs  of  the  country 
as  well  as  that  of  the  rights  of  the  workers,  he 
threw  himself  into  the  breach  with  a  fervor  and 

136 


v^ 


V  ^^^1 

^g^>,:T^HL 

\        i     m 

IV 

,     ' 

M  >      S 

1 

^^MH 

I'liolouraph  by  luleroalionul  I'l.iii  M'rvKc.  Inc. 

DAVin  LLOYD  GEORGE 
Premier  of  Great  Britain 


THE  MAN  BEHIND  THE  GUNS 

persuasive  reasonableness  that  won  concessions 
from  both  sides. 

The  old  daring  originality  was,  however,  by  no 
means  lost  in  the  sober  effectiveness  of  the  new 
minister's  work.  It  was  said  that  under  his  con- 
trol the  office  was  proving  not  only  the  most  active 
but  also  the  most  interesting  position  in  the  cab- 
inet. But  even  so,  the  public  was  hardly  prepared 
for  the  next  step.  When  Campbell-Bannerman 
died  in  1908,  his  successor,  Mr.  Asquith,  promoted 
Lloyd  George  to  the  position  of  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer,  the  post  of  second  importance  in  the 
cabinet. 

It  was  a  sudden,  dazzling  honor,  but  I  do  not 
think  it  was  that  which  brought  the  gleam  to  the 
dark  blue  eyes  of  the  shoemaker's  boy.  At  last 
he  was  to  have  an  opportunity  to  really  better 
the  condition  of  the  people  from  whom  he  sprang, 
whose  needs  he  felt  as  did  no  other  leader. 

This  is  the  way  he  went  about  his  reforms; 
As  Chancellor  he  was  called  upon  to  prepare  a 
Budget  of  the  public  money  to  be  expended,  and 
a  schedule  of  taxation  to  meet  this  outlay.  Lloyd 
George's  Budget  of  1909  was  an  affair  of  such 
far-reaching  importance  that  it  not  only  intro- 

137 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

duced  some  radical  measures  like  old  age  pensions 
and  workmen's  insurance  against  illness  and  un- 
employment, but  it  shifted  a  large  part  of  the 
burden  of  taxes  on  to  the  rich  by  greatly  increas- 
ing the  rate  on  large  incomes,  inheritances,  land 
profits,  and  coal  mines.  In  concluding  his  ex- 
planation of  his  scheme,  Mr.  Lloyd  George  said: 
"This,  Mr.  Chairman,  is  a  war  Budget.  It  is 
for  raising  money  to  wage  war  against  poverty. 
I  cannot  help  hoping  and  believing  that  before 
this  generation  has  passed  away  we  shall  have 
advanced  a  great  step  toward  that  good  time  when 
poverty  and  wretchedness,  and  the  human  deg- 
radation which  always  follows  in  their  camp,  will 
be  as  remote  from  the  people  of  this  country  as 
the  wolves  which  once  infested  its  forests." 

The  next  day  all  England  was  talking  of  the 
amazing  Chancellor.  The  laboring  classes  hailed 
him  as  a  Daniel;  the  well-to-do  classes  called  him 
a  pick-pocket.  Thinking  the  country  was  with 
them,  the  House  of  Lords  decided  to  put  on  a 
bold  front  and  kill  the  Budget,  but  by  so  doing 
they  signed  their  own  death  warrant.  The  cab- 
inet was  dissolved  and  another  election  called. 
Then  the  Lords  found  themselves  not  only  obliged 
to  pass  the  hated  Budget,  but  also  compelled  to 

138 


THE  MAN  BEIIIXD  THE  GUNS 

assent  to  a  bill  forfeiting  a  large  part  of  tlieir 
ancient  privileges.  Never  again  could  they  hold 
up  a  bill  passed  by  the  elected  representatives 
of  the  people;  and,  moreover,  any  bill  passed  by 
three  sessions  of  the  Commons  might  become  a 
law  over  their  heads.  The  will  of  the  people  was 
to  rule.  And  the  man  who  had  made  England 
"safe  for  democracy"  was  Lloyd  George. 

Then  came  the  World  War.  When  Belgium  was 
invaded  England  entered  the  field  on  the  side  of 
outraged  humanity.  Freedom  should  not  perish 
from  the  earth.  But  at  first  all  did  not  face  the 
situation  fairly;  to  some  it  seemed  that  England 
might  well  hold  aloof,  keeping  in  her  own  pleasant 
ways  of  peace  and  prosperity.  Some  of  the  cab- 
inet ministers  resigned,  and  everybody  waited  for 
Lloyd  George  to  follow  their  lead.  They  remem- 
bered his  speeches  at  the  time  of  the  Boer  War; 
he  was  a  peace-at-any-price  man,  they  said. 
Many  exulted,  ''Now  we  shall  be  rid  forever  of 
the  firebrand."  One  peer  promised  the  people 
on  his  estate  that  he  would  celebrate  with  them 
the  day  Lloyd  George  stepped  down  by  a  barbecue. 
Other  people  shook  their  heads;  "If  he  goes  the 
country  will  lose  a  tremendous  power,"  thoy  said. 
But  Lloyd  George  did  not  resign.     Still  everybody 

139 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

waited  in  suspense  for  a  word  from  him ;  and  when 
it  was  announced  that  he  was  to  speak  it  seemed 
as  if  the  whole  city  tried  to  get  within  hearing. 
That  night  the  peace-loving  Welshman  gave  the 
most  rousing  call-to-arms  that  England  had  heard. 

"There  is  no  man,"  he  said,  "who  has  always 
regarded  the  prospect  of  engaging  in  a  great  war 
with  greater  reluctance  than  I  have  done  througli 
all  my  political  life.  There  is  no  man  more  con- 
vinced that  we  could  not  have  avoided  it  now 
without  dishonor. ' '  He  went  on  with  all  his  might 
pouring  out  the  vials  of  his  wrath  upon  the  war- 
makers  who  were  marching  over  the  rights  of  a 
helpless  little  nation.  He  spoke  of  the  riotous 
meeting  when  the  war  party  at  home  had  threat- 
ened him  violence.  "At  that  meeting,"  he  said, 
"I  tried  to  stand  against  the  idea  that  great  and 
powerful  empires  ought  to  have  the  right  to  crush 
small  nationalities.  I  might  have  been  right,  or 
I  might  have  been  wrong,  but  the  principle  which 
drove  me  to  resist  even  our  own  country  is  the 
one  that  has  brought  me  here  to  support  my  coun- 
try." 

But  it  was  not  only  by  his  speeches  that  Lloyd 
George  was  fighting.  As  Chancellor  of  the  Ex- 
chequer he  sent  out  an  appeal  to  the  leading  finan- 

140 


THE  MAN  BEHIND  THE  GUNS 

ciers  of  the  country;  *'This  country  is  thrown 
into  financial  chaos,"  he  said.  ''I  want  the  assist- 
ance of  the  best  brains  of  expert  people.  I  want 
you  to  give  me  your  help  as  to  the  best  way  of 
putting  things  straight." 

Then  a  dramatic  thing  happened.  The  men 
who  had  most  berated  the  wicked  Budget  went  to 
confer  quietly  with  its  creator.  They  found  them- 
selves talking  freely  with  one  who  was  frankly 
eager  to  be  instructed.  Then,  seizing  the  essen- 
tial points  with  his  usual  clear-headedness,  the 
Finance  Minister  went  out  and  told  the  people 
about  the  confusion  that  war  had  brought  to  the 
banks  and  business  houses,  and  the  need  of  spe- 
cial measures  to  tide  them  over.  It  was  all  ex- 
plained so  clearly  that  a  child  could  comprehend. 
Now  all  the  men  of  finance  were  calling  down  bless- 
ings on  the  head  of  Lloyd  George.  It  was  seen 
that  the  bold  and  original  methods  that  he  devised 
had  gone  to  the  core  of  the  difficulty  and  warded 
off  a  business  crisis  that  would  have  served  the 
enemy  as  well  as  a  defeat  in  the  field. 

Everybody  knows  how  disheartening  the  first 
year  of  the  war  was.  Why  could  not  the  Allies 
with  their  combined  might  effect  more  and  bring 
the  struggle  to  a  swift  conclusion?     Lloyd  George 

141 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

was  one  of  those  who  faced  the  problem  squarely: 
He  saw  that  while  there  was  no  lack  of  brave  sol- 
diers there  was  pitiful  lack  of  proper  munitions. 
The  men  had  no  way  of  replying  in  kind  to  the 
high  explosive  shells  of  the  enemy.  He  saw  that 
the  old  over-cautious,  muddling  policy  that  he  had 
rebelled  against  in  time  of  peace  when  he  longed 
to  put  through  some  measure  for  the  people's  good 
was  the  thing  which  now  in  time  of  war  was  crip- 
pling the  army  in  the  field.  Once  again  he  dared 
to  attack  openly  those  in  control,  even  when  it 
meant  a  serious  criticism  of  the  people's  hero, 
Lord  Kitchener.  But  there  must  be  more  guns 
and  more  shells.  The  men  must  not  be  sacrificed 
and  the  war  must  be  won. 

The  Government  then  said  in  effect  to  Lloyd 
George,  "We  will  see  what  you  can  do."  He  was 
moved  from  the  position  of  Chancellor  of  the  Ex- 
chequer to  a  new  post  created  for  him.  As  Min- 
ister of  Munitions  he  was  given  power  to  put  the 
industries  of  the  country  on  a  war  basis  that 
would  make  them  equal  to  the  demands  of  the 
moment. 

"Shells,  more  shells,  mightier  shells,  and  still 
more  shells!"  was  the  cry.  The  country  was 
thoroughly  aroused.    It  was  at  once  plain  that 

142 


THE  MAx\  BEHIND  THE  GUNS 

the  munition  plants  wore  hopolessly  inadequate. 
Lloyd  George  saw  that  he  must  enlist  the  services 
of  all  the  people  and  the  equipment  of  all  the 
factories  and  engineering  firms.  New  men  must 
be  trained;  women  must  be  prepared  to  take  up 
the  work.  Manufacturers  and  business  men  were 
called  to  consult  with  the  new  minister  to  devise 
how  every  plant  which  could  produce  shells  or 
parts  of  shells  might  serve  the  country's  need. 
Soon  factories  that  had  been  making  plows,  sew- 
ing-machines, automobiles  and  many  other  things 
were  turning  out  shells — only  shells.  So  the  tools 
of  peace  had  become  the  sinews  of  war. 

There  were  other  problems,  however,  besides 
taking  a  census  of  all  the  machines  in  the  country 
and  enlisting  the  cooperation  of  all  the  manufac- 
turers. Each  plant  must  work  at  top  steam  and 
each  worker  must  prove  efficient.  That  meant  that 
the  drink  problem  must  be  dealt  with  and  the 
health  of  the  workers  safeiniarded.     It  also  meant 


'!3" 


that  the  rules  governing  labor  must  be  set  aside, 
''Our  Munition  Minister  will  meet  his  Waterloo 

there,"   people    said.     *'The   trades  unions   will 

never  yield  an  inch." 

Lloyd  George  called  special  meetings  of  the  men. 

**An  enlisted  workman,"  he  said,  "cannot  choose 

143 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

his  battle-field  or  the  time  he  is  to  fight.  If  a 
house  is  on  fire  you  cau't  say  that  you  are  not 
liable  to  serve  at  three  o'clock  in  the  morning. 
You  can't  choose  the  hour.  You  can't  argue  as 
to  whose  duty  it  is  to  carry  the  water-bucket  and 
whose  duty  it  is  to  put  it  into  a  crackling  furnace. 
You  must  put  the  fire  out."  The  workers  under- 
stood and  responded  heartily  to  a  man. 

It  seemed  as  if  the  country  had  now  fallen  into 
the  habit  of  turning  to  Lloyd  George  in  time  of 
stress.  When  a  strike  broke  out  in  the  Welsh 
mines  which  supplied  the  Navy  with  coal,  and  the 
Board  of  Trade  despaired  of  effecting  a  com- 
promise, Lloyd  George  was  called  upon.  He  went, 
talked  with  the  employers  and  men  face  to  face, 
and  conquered.  When,  at  the  death  of  Lord  Kit- 
chener, the  question  arose,  "Where  shall  we  find 
a  Minister  of  War?"  the  answer  came,  "There 
is  only  one  man — Lloyd  George." 

Lloyd  George  was  indeed  the  man  of  the  hour. 
He  frequently  visited  the  trenches  and  went  to 
Paris  for  direct  consultation  with  the  commanders. 
He  sensed  the  needs  of  the  time— regulation  of 
food  and  fuel  supplies  and  elimination  of  luxuries ; 
also  Government  control  of  railways,  shipping, 
and  munition  works.    He  realized  the  need  of  a 

144 


THE  MAN  BEHIND  THE  GUNS 

greater  army  and  forced  on  conscription.  His 
greatest  individual  work,  however,  as  Minister  of 
War,  was  the  organizing  of  the  railway  system 
behind  the  British  army  in  France. 

When  in  December,  1916,  the  country  was 
aroused  to  the  need  of  a  strong  hand  at  the  helm, 
a  man  for  war  time  who  would  act  quickly  and 
vigorously,  the  King  asked  Lloyd  George  to  serve 
as  Prime  Minister. 

**If  you  take  a  job  do  it  with  all  your  might," 
cried  Lloyd  George.  *'We  must  see  the  war 
through,  and  there  must  be  no  hugger-mugger 
peace.  It  must  be  an  end  where  we  can  see  light 
after  the  dark  struggle." 

One  of  his  first  acts  was  to  create  a  special  War 
Council,  men  without  administrative  responsibility 
who  were  given  supreme  control  in  managing  the 
country's  business.  New  departments  in  charge 
of  shipping,  and  labor  were  filled  not  from  the 
ranks  of  political  leaders  but  from  the  men  who 
had  made  good  in  business  or  public  administra- 
tion during  the  stress  of  war.  He  called  into  being 
the  Imperial  War  Cabinet  representing  England's 
colonies;  and,  more  important  than  all,  he  not  only 
realized  keenly  the  need  of  unity  of  command  for 
the  Allied  Armies,  but  he  also  had  the  courage 

145 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

to  see  the  matter  through.  The  creation,  first 
of  a  Supreme  War  Council  of  the  Allies,  and  later 
the  selection  of  General  Foch  as  Commander-in- 
Chief,  came  as  the  direct  result  of  his  insistence. 

There  was  a  terrible  hue  and  cry  at  the  time 
of  his  famous  "brutally  frank"  speech  in  Paris. 
*'He  has  attacked  his  own  country  in  time  of  war," 
it  was  said.  "He  has  given  aid  and  encourage- 
ment to  the  enemy." — "Now  the  power  of  this 
upstart  will  be  pricked  like  a  big  bubble,"  said 
his  opponents. 

But  after  the  dust  of  the  fray  had  somewhat 
cleared,  Lloyd  George  was  seen  standing  erect 
and  confident,  still  the  man  of  the  hour. 

"I  made  up  my  mind  to  take  risks,"  he  said, 
"and  1  took  them,  to  arouse  public  sentiment, 
not  here  merely,  but  in  France,  in  Italy,  and  in 
America.  It  is  not  easy  to  rouse  public  opinion. 
I  may  know  nothing  of  military  strategy,  but  I 
do  know  something  of  political  strategy.  To  raise 
a  row  is  the  only  way  to  get  a  job  through.  I 
determined  to  make  a  disagreeable  speech  that 
would  force  everybody  to  talk  about  this  scheme, 
and  they  have  talked  about  it.  The  result  is  that 
America  is  in,  Italy  is  in,  France  is  in,  Britain 
is  in,  and  public  opinion  is  in,  and  that  is  vital." 

146 


THE  MAN  BEHIND  THE  GUNS 

So  Lloyd  George  stuck  by  his  guns,  and  "fired 
the  shot  heara  round  the  world."  But  the  man 
who  was,  perhaps,  the  greatest  power  behind  the 
guns  that  won  the  war,  is  truly  a  man  of  peace. 
He  looks  ahead  to  the  sane  work  of  reconstruction 
that  will  make  the  world  a  better  place  for  all 
peoples. 

*'We  believe  with  Lincoln,"  he  said,  "that  our 
armies  are  ministers  of  good,  not  evil.  Through 
all  the  carnage  and  suffering  and  conflicting  mo- 
tives of  the  Civil  War,  Lincoln  held  steadfastly 
to  the  belief  that  it  was  the  freedom  of  the  people 
to  govern  themselves  which  was  the  fundamental 
issue  at  stake.  So  do  we  to-day.  For  when  the 
people  of  central  Europe  accept  the  peace  which 
is  offered  them  by  the  Allies,  not  only  will  the 
allied  peoples  be  free,  as  they  have  never  been 
free  before,  but  the  German  people,  too,  will  find 
that  in  losing  their  dream  of  an  empire  over  others, 
they  have  found  self-government  for  themselves." 


147 


CEUSADERS  OF  THE  WAR: 

I 

THE  LIBERATOR  OF  BAGDAD 


Think,  in  this  batter'd  Caravanserai 

Whose  Portals  are  alternate  Night  and  Day, 

How  Sultan  after  Sultan  with  his  pomp 
Abode  his  destin'd  Hour  and  went  his  way. 

They  say  the  Lion  and  the  Lizard  keep 

The  Courts  where  Jamshyd  gloried  and  drank  deep: 

And  Bahram,  that  great  Hunter — the  Wild  Ass 
Stamps  o'er  his  Head,  but  cannot  break  his  Sleep. 

Omab  Khayyam. 


GENERAL  MAUDE 

MESOPOTAMIA— the  Land  between  the 
Rivers,  the  garden-spot  of  Eden  where  hu- 
man life  first  came  to  its  own,  where  great  empires 
rose  and  passed  away  before  the  glories  of 
Greece  and  Rome  were  even  thought  of — Meso- 
potamia, with  your  ancient  splendor  and  present 
desolation,  why  did  the  nations  choose  you  as  the 
scene  of  one  act  of  the  terrible  war  tragedy? 

''If  they  had  to  fight  somewhere,  I  suppose  it 
was  good  they  hit  upon  this  place  where  there  is 
nothing  they  can  upset  in  the  fray,"  said  a  Y.  M. 
C.  A.  worker.  ''When  we  growl  about  the  beastly 
cHmate,  let  's  stop  to  think  about  what  is  happen- 
ing to  France  and  then  ask  ourselves  whether  we  'd 
like  to  call  down  that  blight  on  any  other  fair  spot 
of  the  earth." 

"Yes,  you  bet  we  can  put  up  with  the  115  plus 
in  the  shade,  the  mosquitoes,  sand-fleas,  and  all 
the  other  ten  plagues,  if  it  really  helps  to  jiut  an 

151 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

end  to  that  awfulness,"  responded  a  companion 
who  believed  that  peace  is  a  blessing  worth  fight- 
ing for. 

Yet  how  did  it  really  come  about  1  Nobody  saw 
much  ihat  was  promising  in  Mesopotamia.  (Mes- 
pot  the  soldiers  called  it.)  Wandering  Arabs 
pitched  a  tent  here  to-day  to  be  off  to-morrow. 
The  Turks  had  no  use  for  it ;  once  they  offered  it  to 
England  as  a  gift  if  that  nation  would  relieve  them 
of  the  control.  But  at  the  time  Britain  saw  noth- 
ing in  the  offer — why  assume  a  bootless  respon- 
sibility? 

No  one  could  imagine  any  good  coming  out  of 
that  desert  land  of  summer  heat  and  winter  sand 
blasts.  Therefore  the  world  was  somewhat  mysti- 
fied to  hear  that  William  II  of  Germany  was  plan- 
ning to  build  a  railroad  across  the  country  of  deso- 
lation to  Bagdad,  and  England  realized  that  the 
project  could  mean  nothing  but  a  threat  to  her  in- 
fluence in  India  and  the  East.  Why,  for  profitable 
commerce,  should  the  route  avoid  districts  of  agri- 
cultural  promise  in  order  to  take  the  shortest  cut 
across  the  desert?  The  military  advantage  of 
such  a  highwa}^  was  only  toe  apparent.  It  was 
perfectly  transparent  to  the  Arab  Sheikh  of  Ku- 
weit, who  in  his  friendship   for  Great  Britain, 

152 


THE  LIBERATOR  OF  BAGDAD 

obstinately  refused,  notwithstanding  all  the  pres- 
sure that  Turkey  could  bring  to  bear,  to  grant 
or  sell  the  privilege  to  run  such  a  road  through 
his  territory. 

The  friendship  between  Turkey  and  the  Ger- 
man emperor  dates  some  years  back  of  the  war 
alliance.  In  1889,  the  Kaiser  took  occasion  to 
visit  Constantinople  and  establish  friendly  rela- 
tions with  the  Sultan  and  his  people,  paving  the 
way  for  the  peaceful  invasion  of  the  Ottoman 
Empire  by  German  agents  and  traders.  In  1898, 
he  made  a  tour  through  Palestine  as  the  special 
friend  and  ally  of  the  Turk,  even  on  one  remark- 
able occasion  in  Damascus,  proclaiming  himself 
** Defender  of  Islam."  Many  pictures  of  the 
Prussian  monarch  in  Turkish  garments  were  left 
behind  as  souvenirs,  and  in  referring  to  them  some 
of  the  German  diplomatic  agents  whispered  con- 
fidentially that  his  majesty  was  at  heart  a  sincere 
convert  to  Islamism.  On  the  summit  of  the  Mount 
of  Olives  he  built  a  huge,  hideously  pretentious 
structure  with  a  statue  of  himself  in  coat-of-mail  as 
a  crusader  dominating  the  court-yard.  This 
monument  to  an  autocrat's  vanity  was  built  to 
serve  two  ends.  First,  it  provided  a  hospice  for 
German  pilgrims  to  Jerusalem;  so  much  for  the 

-I  ro 

lO'J 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

present  and  the  public.  Second,  it  harbored  cun- 
ningly devised  machine  gun  emplacements  which 
would  command  the  approaches  to  the  hill;  so 
much  for  the  possible  future  and  those  who  shared 
the  Kaiser's  dream  of  world  empire. 

**It  is  indeed  an  ill  wind  which  blows  no  one 
any  good,"  said  an  English  officer,  ''and  the 
Kaiser's  attempt  to  win  control  in  the  East  which 
brought  the  war  to  the  Garden  of  Eden  may  lead 
to  the  restoration  of  that  lost  paradise." 

"What  can  possibly  be  done  for  a  land  that  is 
either  desert  or  swamp,  with  the  extremes  of 
parching  heat  and  unruly  floods?"  he  was  chal- 
lenged. 

"In  ancient  times  there  was  a  system  of  irri- 
gation that  met  both  difficulties,"  he  replied, 
"and  the  man  who  has  made  a  study  of  the  pres- 
ent condition  assures  us  that  it  can  be  done  again 
by  an  employment  of  some  engineering  skill  and 
sufficient  capital.  The  blight  that  has  come  upon 
that  naturally  fertile  land  is  the  result  of  the 
shiftless,  plundering  methods  of  Turkish  control 
—nothing  done  for  the  up-keep  or  improvement 
of  the  countries  they  are  supposed  to  govern." 

Even  while  the  destruction  of  war  was  going 
forward  some  of  the  life-giving,  up-building  forces 

154 


THE  LIBERATOR  OF  BAGDAD 

were  at  work,  which  made  the  Englishman  pro- 
phesy that  the  desert  would  one  day  blossom  as 
the  rose  and  the  wastes  become  fields  of  waving 
grain.  "Life  is  ever  Lord  of  Death"  and  the  law 
of  growth  more  powerful  than  man's  blind,  puny 
efforts  to  destroy.  In  the  very  carrying  forward 
of  the  war  it  was  necessary  to  extend  railways; 
build  bridges,  stations,  and  freight-depots;  and 
improve  the  navigation  of  the  Tigris.  The  needs 
of  the  army  led  both  to  the  employment  of  the  peo- 
ple and  the  extension  of  irrigation.  This  meant 
a  change  for  the  better  in  the  condition  of  the  law- 
less, wandering  Arabs,  and  the  beginning  of  a 
government  that  insured  order,  the  protection  of 
just  laws,  and  the  possibility  of  free  development. 
The  modern  well-equipped  port  of  Basra,  with 
its  hard-surfaced  roads,  warehouses,  piers  and 
dry-docks,  may  be  taken  as  a  type  and  promise  of 
the  new  order. 

But  the  beginning  of  the  story  has  to  do  with 
the  old  Basra,  where  four  British  transports  from 
Bombay  landed  a  little  force  of  Tommies  and  In- 
dian troops  in  November,  1914.  They  found  a 
wretchedly  unsanitary  Turkish- Arab  to\\ai— no 
docks,  warehouses,  roads,  vehicles,  lights,  or  civil- 
ized comforts  of  any  sort.     They  saw  in  every  di- 

155 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

rection  a  stretch  of  drab  and  tawny  desert  through 
which  wriggled  in  a  particularly  unpleasant,  tor- 
tuous way  two  shallow,  sluggish,  brown  rivers, 
along  whose  banks  grew  files  of  tall,  fringing  date 
palms — the  only  green  that  broke  the  desolate  ex- 
panse. 

''What  are  we  to  do  in  this  bloomin'  spot?" 
asked  one  indignant  Tommy.  ' '  This  is  n  't  the  war 
I'm  after!" 

**Well,"  drawled  a  comrade,  *'you  remember 
some  chap  once  said  that  war  was  hell ;  this  looks 
like  it,  doesn't  it?" 

"What  are  we  supposed  to  do  here  anyway?'* 
persisted  Tommy. 

* '  *  Ours  not  to  question  why, '  * '  quoted  the  other. 
**But  since  we  're  at  war  with  the  Turks,  I  suppose 
we  're  bound  to  get  at  them  where  we  can.  You 
know  what  the  order  said,  that  we  're  sent '  to  safe- 
guard our  interests  and  to  protect  the  friendly 
Arabs.'  I  don't  know  what  the  'interests'  are 
besides  the  oil-works  over  yonder  and  the  pipe-lines 
up  to  the  oil  fields.  There  would  be  something 
doing  though  if  they  took  a  notion  to  drop  a  bomb 
there. ' ' 

*'Well,"  pursued  Master  Tommy,  ''of  course 
even  I  can  see  that  the  Navy  must  have  a  place  to 

156 


THE  LIBERATOR  OF  BAGDAD 

tap  oil  in  tliis  part  of  the  world, — but  say,  did  you 
ever  see  a  'friendly  Arab'?" 

The  early  experiences  of  the  soldiers  tended  to 
impress  them  with  the  trickery  and  treachery  of 
their  new  neighbors.  Many  w^ere  the  tales  told 
of  their  thievishness.  One  man  had  had  his  kit 
taken;  another  had  been  relieved  of  everything, 
even  his  tent,  while  he  slept.  An  Indian  sentry, 
challenging  in  vain  a  skulking  shade  from  the 
desert,  fired  and  brought  down  his  man ;  but  as  he 
stooped  to  look  at  him  the  tables  were  turned. 
The  Arab  sprang  to  his  feet,  snatched  the  sentry's 
gun  and  made  off  with  it  through  the  night. 

There  were,  however,  some  good  Arabs,  the  sol- 
diers were  assured.  There  were  many  who  had 
been  loyal  to  the  English  at  a  time  when  the  Turks, 
urged  on  by  the  Germans,  had  tried  to  work  on 
their  religious  zeal  to  bring  about  a  "holy  war." 
The  whole  world  waited  breathless  because  the 
jihah  was  held  to  be  a  duty  of  true  Moslems.  But 
the  Arabs  remembered  that  it  was  to  the  English 
and  not  the  Turks  that  they  had  looked  for  pro- 
tection from  pirates  when  they  went  to  sell  the 
fruits  of  their  pearling  season.  The  Britons  were 
the  strong  men  of  earth,  and  strength  was  to  man 
as  swiftness  to  a  horse.     The  sheikhs  had  a  fine 

157 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

scorn  of  tlie  indolent  Turks  who  made  such  a  poor 
pretense  of  governing.  Many  of  the  Arabs,  more- 
over, belonged  to  a  sect  of  the  Mohammedans  who 
held  that  the  Sultan  was  not  the  true  heir  to  the 
authority  of  their  Prophet,  but  that  the  rightful 
descendants  had  been  slain. 

*'But  we  must  play  a  safe  game  in  Mesopo- 
tamia," the  soldiers  were  warned.  "With  the 
Arabs  as  with  the  people  of  Egypt  and  India,  the 
battle  is  to  the  strong.  It  is  only  as  leaders  that 
they  hold  to  us ;  at  the  first  sign  of  weakening  they 
drop  away." 

Basra  was  not  taken  without  a  struggle — the 
first  real  grapple  with  the  enemy  and  the  enemy's 
country.  Of  the  two  the  latter  seemed  far  more 
formidable,  though  the  Turks  were  unpleasant 
enough.  But  picture  indefinite  stretches  of  hope- 
less swamp,  fringed  with  date  palms  and  grape- 
vine entanglements,  through  which  ran  canals  and 
creeks,  where  Turks  fought  from  ambush  behind 
the  trees  and  under  the  banks  of  the  ditches. 
Fancy  marching  twenty-eight  miles  through 
slimy  mud  in  one  day.  That  was  the  "wicked, 
bad  campaigning"  that  tried  the  souls  of  the 
Tommies.  But  there  they  were  in  Basra,  with 
the  Turks  in  retreat  up  the  river  toward  Bag- 

158 


THE  LIBERATOR  OF  BAGDAD 

dad  and  away  from  the  precious  Anglo-Persian 
oil  properties  at  Abadan — the  little  island  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Shatt-el-Arab,  as  the  estuary  which 
carries  the  combined  waters  of  the  Tigris  and 
Euphrates  into  the  Persian  Gulf  is  called. 

Then  came  the  first  ill-fated  expedition  to  Bag- 
dad. Beginning  with  successes  that  led  the  Brit- 
ish to  underestimate  both  the  strength  of  the 
enemy  and  their  own  serious  handicap  in  the  mat- 
ter of  communications  and  supplies,  they  were 
lured  on  from  Amara,  one  hundred  and  thirty-two 
miles  up  the  Tigris  from  Basra,  and  then  a  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  further  to  Kut-el-Amara,  which 
commanded  the  direct  routes  into  Persia.  It 
seemed  impossible  to  hold  back  with  another  vic- 
tory beckoning  at  the  next  bend  in  the  river,  espe- 
cially as  a  halt  might  be  read  as  weakness. 

It  was  the  British  way  to  dare  splendidly,  and 
there  is  no  wine  so  heady  as  that  of  unmixed  suc- 
cess. The  important  position  of  Kut  was  taken 
and  occupied  by  a  gallant  charge  that  fairly  swept 
the  Turks  out  in  confusion  towards  Bagdad. 
What  more  natural  than  the  next  move?  ''We 
pursued  the  routed  Turks  with  the  utmost 
vigor"  reads  the  official  report,  and  it  may  be 
added,    with    such    momentum    that    they    never 

159 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

paused  until  they  were  half-way  between  Kut  and 
Bagdad.  Was  it  strange  that  the  cry  *'0n  to 
Bagdad!"  should  have  put  to  silence  the  voice  of 
prudence:  "Remember  that  you  are  running 
ahead  of  your  supply  bases;  the  safe  game  is  the 
only  one  to  play  in  this  unknown,  untamed  coun- 
try. Don't  forget  that  'an  army  travels  on  its 
stomach';  if  it  tries  to  get  up  and  run,  it  may  not 
live  to  run  another  day ! ' ' 

We  are  told  that  General  Townshend  listened  to 
the  promptings  of  caution.  He  was  a  seasoned 
officer  who  had  fought  on  the  Nile  and  in  South 
Africa.  Now  he  sent  airplanes  ahead  to  learn  the 
strength  of  the  enemy,  and  reported:  "On  mili- 
tary grounds  we  should  consolidate  our  position 
at  Kut."  But  the  cry  "On  to  Bagdad!"  swept 
all  before  it.  Why  let  the  routed  Turks  retire  and 
recover?  The  men  were  eager  to  be  up  and  after 
them,  and  the  orders  came  to  follow  up  the  victory. 
Bagdad  was  a  prize  worth  the  winning.  It  would 
bring  thousands  of  Arabs  to  the  support  of  the 
conquerors  of  the  sacred  city;  it  would  mean  such 
a  blow  to  Turkey  that  she  would  hardly  be  able  to 
rally  her  forces  against  Suez  or  India. 

In  the  shadow  of  the  ruined  Arch  of  Ctesiphon — 
symbol  of  the  vanished  glories  of  the  past — there 

160 


THE  LIBERATOR  OF  BAGDAD 

was  a  mighty  struggle  with  the  entrenched  Turks, 
and  again  the  British  won.  They  were  ahuost 
within  reach  of  the  goal  when  the  tide  turned. 
The  Turks  were  reenforced  from  Bagdad  in  such 
numbers  that  they  threatened  to  surround  General 
Townshend's  little  army.  There  was  nothing  to 
do  but  to  retire  to  Kut  and  wait  for  men  and 
munitions. 

Then  followed  the  siege.  For  one  hundred  and 
forty-three  days  General  Townshend  held  out 
against  the  eneni}'  before  he  surrendered — not  to 
force  of  arms  but  to  famine.  Day  after  day  he 
heard  the  guns  of  the  rescuing  party  who  were 
struggling  in  vain  to  reach  Kut,  held  back  in  their 
advance  against  the  Turks  by  the  fearful  mire  of 
the  rainy  season.  Then  a  part  of  the  heroic  little 
band  knew  the  bitterness  of  going  up  the  river 
past  the  scenes  of  their  former  triumphs  to  the 
city  of  the  Arabian  Nights  as  prisoners.  The 
drum-beat  "On  to  Bagdad"  was  muffled  now. 

The  man  whose  task  it  was  to  turn  defeat  into 
victory,  General  Sir  Stanley  Maude,  was  put  in 
command  August  28, 1916.  "The  smallest  part  of 
a  general's  work  is  done  at  the  time  of  battle,"  he 
said.  "That  victory  belongs  to  the  men  who  go 
over  the  top.    The  test  of  the  commander  comes 

161 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

in  laying  the  foundation  of  the  campaign,  in  the 
planning  for  success  and  the  providing  against 
failure. ' ' 

General  Maude  spent  four  months  in  his 
preparations,  and  the  results  of  his  work  were  to 
be  seen  in  many  places  besides  in  the  camps  of  the 
soldiers,  who  had  to  be  made  fit  for  vigorous  cam- 
paigning after  the  ills  and  torments  of  the  most 
savage  summer  and  the  depressing  effects  of  de- 
feat. But  their  *'Army  Commander"  led  them 
out  of  the  Egyptian  darkness  of  weakness  and  in- 
difference into  the  Promised  Land  of  spirited  ac- 
tion. Like  Kipling's  ejQ5cient  sergeant  who  could 
*' drill  a  black  man  white,"  he  got  his  Tommies  in 
trim  by  putting  them  to  work.  Only  a  small  de- 
tachment were  left  on  the  fighting  line  opposite  the 
Turk's  confident  position  at  Sunnaiyat  below  Kut 
where  the  rescuing  party  had  been  held  while 
General  Townshend  fought  starvation.  The  rest 
of  the  troops  were  told  off  to  assist  in  the  great 
work  of  preparedness, — building  roads,  docks  and 
warehouses,  and  helping  in  the  moving  of  sup- 
plies. One  felt  the  strength  of  General  Maude's 
influence  with  his  men  and  their  whole-hearted  con- 
fidence in  him  when  they  spoke  his  name  or  stood 
at  salute  before  his  six-feet-three  of  commanding 

162 


THE  LIBERATOR  OF  BAGDAD 

presence.  *' Every  inch  a  general!"  they  used  to 
say  proudly,  ''Nothing  gets  by  him." 

But  the  most  conspicuous  result  of  the  Army 
Commander's  generalship  was  seen  in  the  way  the 
dogged  British  habit  of  "getting  things  done"  had 
struck  root  in  Mesopotamia.  Witness  the  new 
Basra,  with  its  docks,  warehouses  and  hospitals; 
witness  the  roads  that  conquered  the  mud  of  the 
rainy  months.  Along  the  river  bank  where  the 
stores  were  landed  was  a  hard-surfaced  oiled  way 
which  the  men  pointed  out  with  pardonable  pride. 
"You  'd  better  appreciate  the  going  along  here; 
it  's  the  most  expensive  six-miles  in  the  world," 
they  would  say.  "Every  bit  of  the  paving  ma- 
terial brought  from  the  interior  of  India ! ' '  Later 
some  road-making  material  nearer  at  hand  was  un- 
earthed, but  that  six-mile  stretch  w^ill  remain  a 
perfect  type  of  the  way  the  British  were  over- 
riding obstacles  under  the  leadership  of  "the  Man 
of  Mesopotamia." 

Eleanor  Franklin  Egan,  in  her  delightfully  vivid 
account  of  many  phases  of  the  Bagdad  campaign, 
"The  War  in  the  Cradle  of  the  World,"  has  a 
really  epic  chapter  on  the  calling  of  the  river  boats 
from  the  various  streams  of  the  British  dominions 
to  do  special  duty  on  the  Tigris  in  the  nation's 

163 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

hour  of  need.  Only  the  humble  craft  made  for 
shallow  channels  might  serve  here  in  the  impor- 
tant work  of  carrying  supplies  and  removing  the 
wounded.  So  the  ''penny  steamers"  of  the 
Thames,  and  their  colonial  cousins  from  the  Nile, 
the  Ganges,  and  South  Africa,  steamed  away  from 
their  familiar  haunts  and  crossed  the  seas  to  an- 
swer the  call.  I  cannot  refrain  from  quoting  a 
few  lines  from  that  Odyssey  of  the  Penny  Steam- 
ers: 

River  boats  were  an  absolute,  a  primary  necessity.  They 
could  not  be  built  in  Mesopotamia,  nor  anjTvliere  else  in  time 
to  relieve  the  desperate  situation.  .  .  . 

Then  they  would  have  to  come  out  of  other  rivers  other- 
wheres and  make  their  various  ways  somehow — no  matter 
how! — across  the  seas  and  up  through  the  Persian  Gulf  I  .  .  . 
It  has  been  one  of  the  bravest  and  strangest  achievements  of 
the  war,  and  one  hears  with  a  feeling  of  specially  chill  re- 
gret that  more  than  eighty  of  them  have  failed !  A  few  from 
everywhere  have  gone — along  with  the  high  hopes  of  British 
sailors,  and  usually  with  the  sailors,  too — to  the  bottom  of 
the  seas  they  were  never  meant  to  venture  on.  ...  As  I 
watched  the  curious,  flat-bottomed,  high-funnelcd,  double- 
decked,  paddle-wheeled  little  craft  churning  briskly  down- 
stream I  was  seeing  visions  of  the  kind  o£  heroism  that  makes 
one  prayerful.  .  .  . 

General  Maude's  ''safe  game"  included  the 
building  of  a  railroad  that  w^as  to  be  the  measure 
of  their  advance.    ' '  Only  what  an  army  can  grap- 

164 


THE  LIBERATOR  OF  BAGDAD 

pie  with  steel  rails  is  safely  theirs,"  he  said.     So 
they  uever  went  beyond  rail-head. 

There  are  many  curious  stories  told  of  the  way 
the  desert  mirage  mixed  things  up  in  the  Meso- 
potamian  battles.  One  saw  phantom  armies, 
clouds  of  galloping  men  riding  across  the  shim- 
mering sand,  who  disappeared  into  air,  as  did  the 
cooling  lakes  under  sheltering  palms  that  seemed 
to  lie  just  beyond  the  thirsty  traveler.  **It  was 
terribly  upsetting  to  a  chap's  nerve  as  well  as  to 
his  aim,"  said  one  of  the  men.  "And  of  course 
you  can  see  how  it  played  hob  with  our  calculation 
of  gun  ranges.  But  once  it  gave  us  a  victory  that 
was  like  a  miracle  out  of  the  Bible.  At  the  very 
moment  that  the  Turks  seemed  to  have  us  beyond 
hope  of  rescue,  lo  and  behold!  they  turned  and 
fled  like  mad !  They  thought  they  saw  reenf orce- 
ments  coming  over  the  desert— hosts  upon  hosts— 
and  would  you  believe  it?— it  was  just  a  little  sup- 
ply and  ambulance  train  moving  along  in  its  own 
little  cloud  of  dust  that  the  desert  light  had  played 
upon  until  it  seemed  *  terrible  as  an  army  with 
banners.'  They  say  the  unlucky  Turkish  com- 
mander committed  suicide  when  he  learned  how 
they  had  been  bewitched." 

There  was  going  to  be  no  chance  for  any  sort 
165 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

of  a  mirage  to  lure  General  Maude  away  from  a 
safe  game.  From  the  planning  of  supply  trains 
and  depots  along  the  path  of  his  advance  to  the 
installing  of  ice-plants  and  special  hospital  tents 
for  the  treatment  of  men  suffering  from  heat- 
strokes, each  factor  of  the  Mesopotamian  situa- 
tion was  weighed  and  dealt  with  in  turn. 

The  Turks  felt  that  they,  too,  were  playing  a 
safe  game.  Reenforced  in  men,  and  in  morale— 
the  fruit  of  victory, — they  waited  in  strongly  en- 
trenched positions  at  Sunnaiyat  on  the  north  bank 
of  the  Tigris  and  further  west  at  the  Hai,  a  stream 
flowing  due  south  from  Kut.  It  was  their  object 
to  hold  their  own  with  a  comparatively  small  force 
by  virtue  of  their  carefully  guarded  positions,  and 
then  get  behind  the  British  to  strike  at  India 
through  Persia.  The  Sunnaiyat  was  indeed  well 
taken.  A  wedge-shaped  strip  of  land  between  an 
impassable  morass  and  the  Tigris,  it  was  insured 
against  flank  attacks,  and  protected  by  a  remark- 
able system  of  trenches,  bristling  with  gun-pits, 
mines,  and  barbed  wire  entanglements. 

It  was  General  Maude's  plan  to  begin  by  a  bom- 
bardment at  Sunnaiyat  designed  merely  to  give 
the  Turks  something  to  think  about  while  he  struck 
boldly  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  crossing  the 

166 


THE  LIBERATOR  OF  BAGDAD 

Hai  by  a  surprise  attack.  Then,  through  a  series 
of  hammering  blows  he  hoped  to  seize  the  enemy's 
system  of  trenches  tliere,  and,  crossing  the  Tigris 
at  the  weakest  part  of  the  line,  as  far  west  as  pos- 
sible, threaten  the  communication  of  the  enemy  at 
Sunnaiyat.  Thus  the  Turks  might  be  compelled 
to  yield  that  stronghold  in  order  to  preserve  the 
life-line  of  supplies  from  Bagdad. 

The  plan  worked  well.  By  the  middle  of  De- 
cember, General  Maude  had  the  main  body  of  his 
forces  concentrated  on  the  south  side  of  the  river 
with  all  detachments  trained  on  the  enemy  posi- 
tions there,  and  on  the  night  of  the  thirteenth  the 
mighty  push  against  Kut  was  launched — just  one 
year  after  the  time  that  General  Townshend  and 
his  men  took  their  plucky  stand  in  that  city.  In 
spite  of  all  the  enemy's  well-laid  plans,  in  spite  of 
the  most  adverse  weather  conditions — a  time  of 
midday  heat  followed  by  marrow-piercing  cold  at 
night,  and  sand-storms  which  ushered  in  the  sea- 
son of  flooding  rains  that  reduced  the  fighting 
ground  to  quagmires — in  spite  of  all  the  preven- 
tions of  man  and  the  perversities  of  nature,  they 
passed  on  to  success. 

In  the  crossing  of  the  Tigris  above  Kut  the  Brit- 
ish seemed  to  achieve  the  impossible.     After  two 

167 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

months  of  vigorous  hammering  that  drove  the 
Turks  back  inch  by  inch  from  the  country  around 
the  Hai,  they  took  refuge  in  the  positions  about 
Kut  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  and  in  their 
impregnable  field  of  Sunnaiyat,  as  who  should  say, 
"Thus  far  and  no  farther!  Here  we  can  hold  till 
doomsday!" 

But  the  day  of  doom  was  already  dawning. 
This  is  the  way  the  account  of  it  read  in  General 
Maude's  official  report: 

The  waterlogged  state  of  the  country  and  a  high  fiood  oa 
the  Tigris  now  necessitated  a  pause,  but  the  time  was  use- 
fully employed  in  methodical  preparation  for  the  passage  of 
the  Tigris  at  Shumran.  Positions,  guns  and  machine-gun 
crews  to  support  the  crossing  were  selected,  approaches  and 
ramps  were  made,  and  crews  were  trained  to  man  the  pon 
toons.  In  order  to  keep  our  intentions  concealed  it  was  nec- 
essary that  most  of  the  details,  including  the  movement  of 
guns,  should  be  carried  out  under  the  cover  of  night.  Op- 
posite Sunnaiyat  where  it  was  intended  to  renew  the  assault, 
artillery  barrages  were  carried  out  daily  in  order  to  induce 
the  enemy  to  expect  such  barrages  unaccompanied  by  an  as- 
sault as  part  of  the  daily  routine.  Minor  diversions  were  also 
planned  to  deceive  the  enemy  as  to  the  point  at  which  it  was 
intended  to  cross  the  river. 

**We  have  waited  for  the  rain  and  mud  to  stop 
you,"  said  one  of  the  2,000  prisoners  who  had  not 
succeeded  in  making  good  their  crossing  of  the 

168 


Fhotozraph  by  I'rena  Illu^tratiriK  Service,   Inc. 

SIK  FHEDKHKK  STAXI>EV  MAT'DK 
The  late  Lieutenant-Gcnf.Tal  and  Coiiiniander-iii-Cliicf  in  MfHupntiiiiua 


THE  LIBERATOR  OF  BAGDAD 

river  to  Kut,  *'but  Kismet  willed  that  it  should 
not  rain."  And  when  Fate  sent  the  longed-for 
torrent  just  a  bit  too  late,  it  had  clogged  their  feet 
as  they  tried  to  flee.  Clearly  Kismet  was  with 
the  British,  for  not  only  before  the  flood  but 
through  the  mire  they  pressed  on. 

Only  madmen  would  have  attempted  to  cross 
the  river,  so  the  Turks  thought — the  river  at  flood 
which  was  three  hundred  and  fifty  yards  wide  at 
the  point  where  the  ferries  and  pontoons  were 
thrown  over,  swept  by  the  machine-gun  fire  from 
the  commanding  positions  of  the  enemy.  Cannon 
to  right  of  them;  cannon  to  left  of  them!  ''But 
we  did  it!"  exulted  one  Tommy  from  his  hospital 
cot ;  he  had  no  hand  to  bring  to  salute  but  his  face 
glowed.  .  .  .  **The  men  pressed  on  with  uncon- 
querable valor  and  determination,"  wrote  the 
Army  Commander. 

Well,  what  use  of  holding  out  against  Kismet  1 
Turks  at  least  know  enough  not  to  strive  against 
Fate.  When  on  the  evening  of  February  23,  that 
fatal  bridge  built  in  nine  hours  across  the  Tigris 
at  flood  was  ready  for  the  triumphal  passing  of 
General  Maude 's  men,  the  Turkish  forces  were  in 
full    retreat   toward   Bagdad,    fighting   defiantly 

169 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

every  step  of  the  way.  **It  's  not  your  infidel 
strength  that  has  won,"  they  seemed  to  say. 
** Kismet  has  willed  it." 

The  armies  of  the  three  elements — earth,  air, 
and  water — were  warring  together  now  against 
the  routed  Turks.  Airplanes  made  swooping  at- 
tacks dropping  death  from  above;  gun-boats  ad- 
vanced along  the  river  shelling  the  defenses  along 
the  banks;  and  the  invincible  army  pressed  on. 
With  just  one  pause  half-way  to  Bagdad  to  insure 
lines  of  communication  and  the  best  organization 
of  the  troops,  they  advanced  toward  the  goal — 
eighteen  miles  one  day,  seventeen  miles  the  next. 
**0n  to  Bagdad"  was  now  a  mighty  trumpet  call. 

In  the  City  of  Golden  Domes,  of  minarets,  and 
magic  associations  of  oriental  romance — a  city  of 
splendid  dreams ;  in  the  unsanitary,  unsightly  col- 
lection of  mud-dwellings  and  gaudy  bazaars —  a 
city  of  sordid  reality— for  Bagdad  was  both  of 
these — there  was  tremendous  excitement.  The 
Turks  were  fleeing;  why  did  not  the  British  come 
and  keep  order!  For  the  terrible  Kurds  were 
seizing  the  moment  of  confusion  for  looting  and 
outrages  of  every  sort.  ''The  British  are  at  our 
gates;  why  do  they  not  enter?"  moaned  the  Ara- 
bian traders  who  saw  their  rugs  and  precious  in- 

170 


THE  LIBERATOR  OF  BAGDAD 

laid  furniture  scattered  about  and  destroyed  as 
the  robbers  seized  and  fought  among  themselves 
for  the  jewelry  and  costly  bric-a-brac. 

When  the  Tommies  at  last  entered  the  city,  pale 
and  haggard  from  sleepless  nights  and  hard  fight- 
ing, they  found  the  streets  crowded  with  a  host  of 
people  in  holiday  attire — men  in  turbans,  red 
fezzes,  and  Persian-lamb  caps  and  long,  girdled 
robes ;  women  in  silk  draperies,  fancy  slippers  and 
festive  lace  veils.  Arabs,  Armenians,  Persians, 
Syrians,  Jews,  joined  in  the  great  rejoicing. 
Their  deliverers  who  would  insure  freedom  and 
protection  for  all  had  come. 

Many  were  disappointed  that  General  Maude  did 
not  seize  the  opportunity  for  a  triumphal  entry. 
Surely  there  might  have  been  some  satisfying 
flourish  after  all  the  weary  struggle!  But  that 
was  not  the  Army  Commander's  way,  nor  was  it 
in  keeping  with  the  British  spirit.  He  left  it  for 
the  results — and  the  people  of  Bagdad — to  do  the 
cheering.  A  few  troops  entered  the  city  to  patrol 
the  streets  and  preserve  order.  For  himself  he 
had  them  moor  his  floating  headquarters  on  one  of 
the  supply-boats  to  the  wall  of  the  British  Resi- 
dency, and  accompanied  by  the  members  of  his 
staff,  walked  quietly  ashore  **as  casually  as  he 

171 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

might  have  done  had  he  been  only  a  very  tired 
traveler  arriving  under  the  most  ordinary  cir- 
cumstances," it  was  remarked. 

They  did  not  at  once,  however,  take  calm  and 
assured  possession.  Bagdad  must  be  made  for- 
ever safe  from  the  domination  of  the  Turk;  vic- 
tory must  be  made  sure.  To  insure  the  city 
against  a  rallying  counter-attack,  the  famous  Scot- 
tish Black  Watch  pursued  the  routed  enemy 
through  dust  storms,  and  desperate  fighting  that 
lasted  two  nights  and  a  day, — for  the  Turks  were 
stubborn  in  their  defiance.  They  must  bow  to 
Kismet,  but  they  hated  the  instruments  of  his  will. 
The  resolute  conduct  of  the  rank  and  file  in  face 
of  defeat  won  the  admiration  of  the  Tommies. 
**If  there  's  fighting  to  be  done,  give  me  Johnny 
Turk,"  they  said.  *'He  will  'stick  it'  to  the  fin- 
ish!" 

But  the  end  had  indeed  come  on  March  10,  1917, 
when  General  Maude  entered  Bagdad.  The  pres- 
tige of  the  Turks  with  the  Arabs  was  gone,  and 
with  it  all  hope  of  striking  a  blow  at  the  English 
in  India.  All  the  cultivated  lands  of  Babylonia 
and  the  prospect  of  their  harvests  for  provision- 
ing the  armies  of  the  Central  Powers  had  slipped 
away.    Inspired  by  the  Turkish  defeat  in  Meso- 

172 


THE  LIBERATOR  OF  BAGDAD 

potamia,  the  Arabs  of  Hedjaz,  a  province  of 
Turkey  in  Asia,  revolted  and  proclaimed  their  in- 
dependence under  the  leadership  of  the  Shereef  of 
Mecca  who  captured  the  Turkish  garrisons  in  that 
sacred  city,  secured  the  allegiance  of  the  orthodox 
Arabs  and  Syrians  whose  religious  zeal  had  been 
outraged  by  the  Young  Turks,  and  took  the  title  of 
King  of  Hedjaz.  Several  Turkish  towns  were 
seized  and  the  Syrian  railway  seriously  crippled. 

While  Bagdad  w^as  still  celebrating  the  coming 
of  the  English  and  the  dawn  of  its  new  day  of 
freedom  a  sudden  hush  fell  upon  the  general  re- 
joicing. The  conquerors  had  a  staggering  loss. 
After  three  days  of  illness  General  Maude  died  on 
November  18,  1917,  of  the  pestilence  of  the  coun- 
try— cholera — taken,  it  was  said,  from  the  raw 
milk  he  had  poured  into  his  coffee  at  a  Jewish  re- 
ception in  honor  of  the  victory. 

''The  Huns  have  scored  again,"  was  the  bitter 
word  that  passed  from  one  group  of  soldiers  to 
the  next  as  they  looked  at  each  other  with  white, 
set  faces.     ''Who  will  'carry  on'  now?" 

Then,  as  they  repeated  in  hushed  voices  the  last 
words  of  their  beloved  Army  Commander,  "Tell 
them  I  can't  come  to  the  office  to-day.  They  must 
just  carry  on," — they  knew  that  they  would  "carry 

173 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

on,"  with  the  undying  spirit  of  their  leader  urg- 
ing them  forward.  For  the  cause  of  freedom  and 
peace  does  not  depend  on  the  strength  of  any  one 
man,  but  on  the  might  of  unnumbered  hosts  ever 
carrying  on. 

General  Marshall,  the  corps  commander  of  the 
eastern  front,  succeeded  General  Maude.  *'He 
will  see  that  the  Army  Commander's  plans  are 
carried  through,"  said  one  of  the  officers.  ''You 
know  he  used  to  insist  that  Marshall  was  the  better 
general  of  the  two.  'He  's  a  wonderful  leader,' 
he  once  said ; '  wish  I  could  work  things  out  with  the 
sweep  he  does.  Being  an  office  man  clips  your 
power.  Marshall  has  had  the  service  in  the  field 
and  the  touch  with  the  men  that  are  the  real 
thing.'  " 

General  Maude's  successor  did  indeed  carry  on. 
By  swift,  skilful  blows  he  swept  the  Turks  from 
the  region  of  the  Euphrates,  destroying  all  their 
hopes  of  rallying  there  for  the  recapture  of  Bag- 
dad, drove  them  a  hundred  miles  further  along  the 
Tigris,  cleared  them  out  of  their  boasted  strategic 
position  on  the  Persian  frontier,  and  strength- 
ened the  barrier  along  that  front  which  had  threat- 
ened to  collapse  on  the  retirement  of  Russia  from 
the  war. 

174 


THE  LIBERATOR  OF  BAGDAD 

When  one  reviews  the  Mesopotamian  story 
from  its  dashing  promise  that  ended  in  the  tragedy 
at  Kut,  through  the  second  campaign  where  the 
steady,  four-square  generalship  of  Maude  tri- 
umphed in  a  series  of  engagements  that  must  set 
a  standard  for  all  future  colonial  commanders,  to 
the  final  capitulation  of  the  Turks  when  General 
Townshend  was  released  to  carry  to  the  Allies  the 
white  flag  of  surrender,  one  is  struck  by  the  un- 
daunted British  will  to  *' carry  on"  that  alone 
made  it  possible.  And  one  kindles  at  the  thought 
that  *' Peace  hath  her  victories  no  less  renoMTied 
than  war";  and  that  in  the  reclaiming  of  the  des- 
ert, in  the  development  of  the  country  through  the 
freedom  and  enlightenment  of  its  peoples,  the 
spirit  that  commands  victory  will  still  "carry 
on." 


175 


CRUSADERS  OF  THE  WORLD  WAR: 

n 

THE  DELIVERER  OF  JERUSALEM 


"Palestine  has  been  of  greater  significance  to  mankind,  spir- 
itually and  materially,  than  any  other  single  country  in  the 
world.  .  .  .  Nowhere  else  has  so  much  history  run  into  or 
through  so  narrow  a  space." 


II 

GENERAL  ALLENBY 

WHEN"  the  river  Nile  flows  into  Palestine, 
there  will  come  a  prophet  from  the  west 
who  shall  drive  the  Turk  from  Jerusalem,"  so  ran 
the  Arab  prophecy;  and  one  of  the  most  interest- 
ing chapters  in  the  story  of  the  World  War  is  con- 
cerned with  its  fulfilment. 

The  greatest  events  of  human  history,  like  the 
most  momentous  happenings  in  the  life  of  every 
individual,  come  to  pass  so  quietly,  so  inevitably, 
that  we  do  not  perceive  their  trend  any  more  than 
we  see  the  growth  of  a  tree.  We  know  the  sap- 
ling ;  we  sit  in  the  shade  of  the  tree  and  eat  of  its 
fruit.  The  results  are  ours,  but  not  the  alchemy 
that  has  changed  earth  and  air  into  food  for  man. 

Was  there  any  one  during  the  first  dark  months 
of  war  who  could  see  how  the  nations  were  being 
led?  In  particular,  had  the  great  captains  of 
England  any  vision  of  the  part  their  armies  should 
have  in  the  freeing  of  Jerusalem,  the  holy  city  of 

179 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

three  religions?  Let  us  see  what  it  was  that  gave 
rise  to  the  last  and  greatest  of  the  crusades. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  great  struggle  the  whole 
thought  of  England,  as  of  her  allies,  was  centered 
upon  the  Western  front.  How  could  there  be  any 
question  that  the  country  that  the  invader  had 
seized  was  the  place  where  the  war  must  be  fought 
out  and  the  victory  won?  There  were,  however, 
those  who  before  long  began  to  say  that  Britain 
was  singularly  blind  to  the  situation  at  her  eastern 
gate.  It  is  here,  they  sounded  warning,  that  Ger- 
many intends  to  strike  her  real  blow,  for  her  dream 
is  to  found  an  empire  reaching  to  the  Persian 
Gulf,  that  will  wrest  the  sceptre  of  power  from 
England  in  India  and  in  Egypt. 

It  seems  strange  now  that  any  one  could  have 
been  blind  to  the  meaning  of  the  Kaiser's  alliance 
with  Turkey,  and  the  project  of  the  Berlin-to-Bag- 
dad  Railway.  We  see,  however,  without  the 
shadow  of  a  doubt  that  England  had  not  prepared 
for  a  war,  or  else  she  would  have  been  ready  to  go 
forward  at  the  point  where  things  might  have 
been  pushed  to  an  early  decision.  But  it  is  idle 
to  speculate  on  what  might  have  happened  if  Eng- 
land had  been  able  to  press  on  with  vigor  at  the 
Dardanelles  and  to  strike  through  the  Balkans, 

180 


THE  DELIVERER  OF  JERUSALEM 

saving  Serbia  and  uniting  with  Russia  in  time  to 
prevent  the  collapse  of  that  ally.  If  it  is  true  as 
one  of  the  Sultan's  henchmen  declared,  that  it  was 
not  Turkish  bravery  but  Allied  stupiditj^  that 
saved  the  Dardanelles,  still  events  have  shown 
that  Destiny  was  working  in  another  way. 

Things  came  about  quite  naturally.  The  Ger- 
mans and  Turks  thought  that  the  British  lion  was 
asleep — else  why  with  a  Kitchener  in  command, 
one  who  knew  the  East  and  its  opportunities,  did 
the  English  not  come  in  their  ships  or  even  across 
the  desert  to  Palestine  while  that  door  was  open? 
For  at  the  beginning  Turkey  could  have  offered 
little  resistance  there.  Surely  it  was  a  golden 
opportunity  to  destroy  the  Suez  canal,  and  with 
it  British  prestige  in  Eg}^pt  and  in  India. 

*'It  was  a  bit  expensive,  that  excursion  of  the 
Turks  across  the  desert,"  said  an  English  ofl5cer. 
**It  cost  them  60,000  camels;  but  it  came  near  cost- 
ing us  Suez. ' ' 

It  seemed  as  if  representatives  of  all  the  people 
of  the  British  Empire  fought  there  at  England's 
canal-gateway  to  India  and  the  East.  There  were 
East  Indians,  Australians,  and  New  Zealanders, 
as  well  as  British  territorials  and  yeomanry. 
Some  English  and  French  men-of-war  also  lent 

181 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

their  assistance.  Heavy  losses  were  inflicted  on 
the  Turks  who  were  put  to  rout  with  their  Turk- 
ish and  German  leaders  at  Kantara,  a  point  on  the 
canal  about  thirty  miles  south  of  Port  Said. 

There  was  no  doubt  now  that  the  British  lion 
was  awake.  The  desert  must  be  crossed  and  the 
Turks  attacked  in  Palestine;  that  northern  pass 
to  the  precious  canal  must  not  be  left  in  the  hands 
of  the  enemy. 

It  was  not  the  English  way  to  depend  on  camel 
transport,  however.  Sir  Archibald  Murray,  who 
was  in  command  of  the  British  forces  in  Egypt,  de- 
cided to  advance  in  the  thorough-going  Kitchener 
manner  by  laying  a  railroad  along  the  Mediter- 
ranean shore  from  Kantara  through  Rafa  and  on 
up  into  Palestine.  So  the  rails  of  a  standard 
gauge  line  were  laid  across  the  desert  from  Cairo 
to  Jerusalem.  And  the  decision  to  proceed  in  this 
way  was  reached  as  deliberately  as  if  the  genii 
called  upon  to  bridge  the  waste  would  not  have 
to  work  by  means  of  thousands  of  laborers  to  make 
roads,  drain  marshes,  level  embankments,  and 
finally  lay  pipes  to  carry  water  along  from  the 
Nile  itself  across  the  desert.  For  they  could  no 
more  depend  upon  carrying  water  than  they  could 
upon  finding  a  Moses  who  would  be  able  to  call  it 

182 


THE  DELIVERER  OF  JERUSALEM 

from  a  rock.  They  must  take  the  Nile  with  them. 
But,  be  it  noticed,  they  did  this  in  the  simple,  nat- 
ural way  of  meeting  a  need,  little  dreaming  that 
by  so  doing  a  prophecy  was  being  fulfilled. 

Nor  did  General  Sir  Edmund  Allenby,  that 
quiet,  unpretentious  commander  in  whom  the 
strength  of  the  leader  and  the  easy  courtesy  of  the 
English  scholar  and  gentleman  seemed  perfectly 
blended,  have  any  more  idea  that  Fate  had  singled 
him  out  to  lead  a  successful  crusade  and  play  the 
part  of  liberator  to  the  followers  of  three  great 
faiths  than  he  had  when  he  was  a  school-boy  at 
Haileybury  College.  It  is  the  pride  of  all  of  Eng- 
land's public  schools — Eton,  Rugby,  Harrow,  and 
the  rest — that  they  so  graft  the  fine  traditions  of 
the  past  upon  the  sturdy  stem  of  vigorous,  well- 
balanced  training  of  mind  and  body,  that  they  pro- 
duce a  special  flowering  of  character  which  has 
been  the  strength  and  glory  of  the  British  Em- 
pire. It  is  the  boast  of  Haileybury  that  her  sons 
have  proved  particularly  fit  in  taking  up  "the 
white  man's  burden"  in  India  and  in  Africa.  .  .  . 
We  may  note  that,  while  still  a  boy  at  school,  young 
Allenby  showed  a  love  of  literature.  He  enjoyed 
the  fine  flavor  of  a  book  that  was  to  his  taste  as 
naturally  as  he  enjoyed  a  game  of  cricket. 

183 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

On  entering  the  soldier's  life  as  a  young  officer  of 
dragoons,  he  first  saw  active  service  in  Africa 
at  the  age  of  twenty-three.  Four  years  later — in 
1888 — he  fought  in  Zululand,  and  because  of  his 
keen  resourcefulness  as  well  as  his  courage,  he  was 
made  adjutant.  In  the  South  African  War  from 
1899  to  1902  his  gallantry  and  cavalry  tactics 
which  were  twice  mentioned  by  his  commander  in 
dispatches  home,  won  him  a  decoration  by  the 
Government. 

In  the  present  war  his  division  of  cavalry  acted 
as  a  screen  to  the  infantry  in  that  stubborn  retreat 
when  the  Germans  were  making  their  first  ter- 
rific rush  on  Paris,  and  ''the  contemptible  little 
British  army"  of  less  than  200,000,  hopelessly  out- 
numbered and  deluged  with  high-explosive  shells 
to  which  they  had  no  way  of  replying,  fell  back 
step  by  step,  yielding  so  slowly,  selling  their  lives 
so  dearly,  that  the  German  onslaught  was  checked 
until  Joffre  could  gather  his  forces  for  the  stand 
at  the  Marne.  It  was  Allenby's  cavalry  that,  like 
the  nimble  shield  of  the  gladiator  fighting  against 
odds,  caught  the  deadly  thrusts  of  the  enemy,  and 
enabled  the  slender  columns  to  prolong  the  strug- 
gle as  they  did.  It  was  also  Allenby's  cavalry,  as 
General  French  noted  in  his  report,  that  saved  the 

184 


THE  DELIVERER  OF  JERUSALEM 

heroic  remnant  of  the  British  forces  from  destruc- 
tion. 

When  in  June,  1917,  General  Allenby  was  trans- 
ferred from  the  Western  arena  and  put  in  charge 
of  the  Palestine  expedition  planned  by  General 
Murray,  all  his  gifts  both  as  a  man  and  as  a  com- 
mander were  soon  brought  into  play.  During  the 
parching  heat  of  the  summer  months  when  noth- 
ing could  go  forward  except  plans  for  the  offen- 
sive in  the  autumn,  Allenby  studied  the  situation 
point  by  point,  noting  the  entrenchments  of  the 
enemy  and  the  natural  obstacles  to  be  overcome. 
Here  he  proved  that  by  careful  preparation  he 
could  forestall  difficulties,  commanding  success  by 
a  wise  and  prudent  generalship  that  matched  his 
daring  gallantry  when  fighting  against  odds. 

Now  the  Tommies  who  had  been  whiling  away 
some  of  the  summer  days  by  going  about  with 
Bibles  as  Baedekers,  trying  to  identify  various 
places  mentioned  in  church,  were  drawn  up  along 
a  front  of  twenty-two  miles  from  the  sea  opposite 
Gaza  to  Gamli.  They  faced  the  Turks  who  were 
strongly  entrenched  from  Gaza  to  Beershoba,  a 
distance  of  about  thirty  miles.  It  was  General 
Allenby 's  plan  to  make  various  feint  attacks  to 
distract  the  enemy's  attention,  and  then  to  strike 

185 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

boldly  at  Beersheba,  where  he  knew  there  was  an 
ample  water  supply,  forcing  the  Turks  out  with 
a  suddenness  that  would  prevent  them  from  dam- 
aging the  famous  wells. 

The  attack  had  all  the  effect  of  an  unexpected 
pounce.  The  infantry  was  marched  forward  dur- 
ing the  night,  for  the  least  movement  over  the 
parched  ground  raised  clouds  of  dust  that  would 
have  at  once  proclaimed  their  approach  over  a 
country  covered  only  by  a  sparse  growth  of  trees 
and  cactus  hedges.  During  the  day,  therefore, 
the  Tommies  lay  hidden  in  the  dry,  pebbly  ravine 
of  a  wadi,  and  wondered  if  it  was  from  the  bed  of 
this  stream  that  David  drew  his  five  smooth  stones 
to  slay  the  giant. 

On  the  calm,  moonlit  night  of  October  30,  the 
men  prepared  for  a  rush  on  a  hill  just  south  of 
the  city,  where  a  German  machine  gun  section  was 
implanted.  So  sudden  was  the  onslaught  that 
the  guns  were  silenced  and  the  hill  carried  before 
the  eight  oflScers  and  eighty  men  who  were  cap- 
tured had  chance  to  realize  their  plight.  After 
a  bombardment  by  field  guns  which  had  been 
placed  at  the  right  range  to  cut  through  the  wire 
entanglements,  the  infantry  dashed  forward, 
screened  by  the  pall  of  sand  raised  by  the  bursting 

186 


THE  DELIVERER  OF  JERUSALEM 

shells,  tore  down  the  wire  from  its  iron  supports, 
and  fairly  swept  the  astonished  Turks  from  the 
entrenchments  they  had  thought  well-nigh  im- 
pregnable. Through  the  gate-way  thus  opened  by 
the  infantry,  the  Australian  cavalry  charged  into 
the  toAvn  from  the  east,  completed  the  capture, 
and,  by  commanding  the  Hebron  road,  shut  off 
retreat  in  that  direction.  Warehouses  full  of 
grain,  which  bore  signs  of  hasty,  futile  attempts 
to  destroy  the  stores,  gave  evidence  to  the  surprise 
of  the  attack. 

There  was  a  pause  for  a  day  or  two  in  the  firing, 
when  the  Tommies  with  the  Bibles  could  gather 
about  the  two  circular  wells  of  clear,  pure  water, 
and  speculate  freely  as  to  which  was  the  well  dug 
by  Abraham,  which  spot  was  the  place  where  the 
patriarch  received  the  command  to  sacrifice  Isaac, 
and  which  stone  might  have  been  the  altar  where 
Jacob  made  his  burnt  offering  to  Jehovah  on  the 
journey  into  Egypt. 

'*Hov/  far  is  it  to  Dan?"  asked  an  American  Red 
Cross  v7orker  who  chanced  to  recall  that  the  phrase 
''from  Dan  to  Beersheba"  indicated  the  extent 
from  north  to  south  of  the  Hebrew  territory. 

''About  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles,"  he  was  as- 
sured authoritatively.     "Palestine  is  only  a  very 

187 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

little  larger  than  your  Massachusetts ;  but  no  man 
from  the  Hub  even,  would  dare  to  contend  that 
this  narrow  strip  of  barren,  hilly  country  is  not 
more  precious  to  the  world  than  any  other  portion 
of  the  earth's  surface." 

''I  wonder,"  said  the  Red  Cross  man  hastily, 
as  if  trying  to  stem  the  tide  of  an  earnest  discourse, 
''if  General  Allenby  will  make  it  possible  for  me 
to  take  a  stroll  from  Dan  to  Beersheba  one  of 
these  days  before  I  go  back  to  our  little  America. ' ' 

(It  may  be  added  here  by  way  of  parenthesis 
that  he  was  indeed  accorded  that  privilege.) 

But  first  the  Tommies  and  the  Australian  light 
horse  had  the  fine  excitement  of  taking  Gaza,  the 
modern  city  built  over  the  ancient  town  of  the 
Philistines  for  which  the  strong  man  of  the  Israel- 
ites, Samson,  showed  his  contempt  by  carrying 
away  its  gates,  leaving  them  casually  on  a  neigh- 
boring hill-top.  The  Turks  had  an  elaborate  sys- 
tem of  trenches  about  the  place  which  would  have 
exacted  a  costly  toll  of  British  lives  without  Gen- 
eral Allenby 's  strategy.  By  a  flank  attack  before 
daylight,  he  succeeded  in  rolling  back  the  enemy 
on  the  left  step  by  step,  until  Gaza,  the  scene  of 
many  sieges  from  the  time  it  was  a  possession  of 
the  Pharaoh  "who  knew  not  Joseph,"  1300  B.  C, 

188 


THE  DELIVERER  OF  JERUSALEM 

until  it  was  quietly  pocketed  by  Napoleou  in  1799, 
was  captured.  Now  it  was  once  more  laid  in  ruins, 
by  the  Turks  who  waited  to  destroy  what  they 
could  not  carry  off.  The  near  view,  therefore,  of 
the  houses,  which  with  their  red-topped  roofs  and 
colored  walls  had  looked  rather  picturesque  as 
seen  over  the  olive  groves,  was  a  distinct  disap- 
pointment ;  but  the  Tommies  found  much  to  inter- 
est them  in  the  captured  defenses  of  the  enemy. 
There  were  dugouts  with  head  covers  of  thick  palm 
logs  thatched  with  sand  bags,  which  led  to  shelters 
a  dozen  feet  below  ground.  Dense  hedges  of 
cactus,  in  many  places  untouched  by  the  bombard- 
ment, screened  machine  guns  which  would  have 
done  deadly  work  but  for  the  strategy  of  the  cap- 
ture. 

They  were  now  on  the  open  rolling  Plains  of 
Philistia,  dotted  with  little  villages  enclosed  within 
mud  walls  and  surrounded  by  plantations  of  dates 
and  olives.  Here  the  cavalry  in  a  dashing  charge 
across  a  flat  expanse  swept  by  the  gun  fire  of  the 
enemy,  succeeded  in  capturing  Junction  Station 
on  the  Jerusalem-Damascus  Railroad,  thus  cutting 
in  two  the  Turkish  army,  part  of  which  had  with- 
drawn eastward  into  the  mountains  near  Jerusa- 
lem, the  other  section  retreating  north  across  the 

189 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

plain.  In  summing  up  in  his  official  report  the 
results  of  the  first  fortnight  of  his  campaign,  Gen- 
eral Allenby  said : 

"In  fifteen  days  our  force  had  advanced  sixty 
miles  on  its  right  and  about  forty  miles  on  its  left. 
It  had  driven  a  Turkish  army  of  nine  infantry 
divisions  and  one  cavalry  division  out  of  a  posi- 
tion in  which  it  had  been  entrenched  for  six 
months,  and  had  pursued  it,  giving  battle  when- 
ever it  attempted  to  stand,  and  inflicting  on  it 
losses  amounting  probably  to  nearly  two-thirds  of 
the  enemy's  original  effectives.  Over  9,000  pris- 
oners, about  80  guns,  more  than  100  machine  guns, 
and  very  large  quantities  of  ammunition  and  other 
stores  had  been  captured." 

Jaffa,  or  Joppa  as  it  was  called  in  ancient  times, 
the  seaport  of  Jerusalem,  where  in  the  time  of 
Solomon's  glory  the  wealth  of  the  world  was 
brought,  and  where  the  famous  cedars  of  Lebanon 
were  sent  by  King  Hiram  of  Tyre  for  the  building 
of  the  Hebrew  temple,  was  seized  on  November 
17.  Preparations  for  taking  the  **city  set  on  the 
hill,"  without  firing  a  shot  which  would  imperil 
its  sacred  buildings  were  now  well  under  way. 
If  General  Allenby  had  not  feared  to  harm  even 
the  approaches  to  the  holy  city,  it  might  have  fallen 

190 


THE  DELIVERER  OF  JERUSALEM 

into  his  hands  much  sooner.  As  it  was,  he  de- 
termined to  close  in  upon  it,  pushing  on  the  con- 
struction of  the  railway,  insuring  a  water  supply, 
and  taking  every  opportunity  for  the  landing  of 
stores  along  the  coast.  As  the  main  way  from 
Jaffa  to  Jerusalem,  the  only  road  possible  for 
wheeled  transport,  had  been  damaged  by  the  Turks 
at  several  points,  it  was  necessary  to  stop  to  make 
repairs  before  the  artillery  could  be  brought  up. 

They  were  now  in  the  Judaean  hill  country,  a 
land  of  steep,  craggy,  limestone  cliffs,  intersected 
by  narrow  valleys.  Here  to  the  northwest  of 
Jerusalem,  the  Turks  made  a  determined  stand, 
fearing  that  communication  would  be  cut  off  from 
the  city,  which  they  could  hardly  hope  to  hold  now 
that  the  way  to  the  sea  was  gone,  but  which  as 
one  of  the  holy  cities  of  their  faith,  they  could  not 
bring  themselves  to  surrender  without  a  struggle. 

Early  in  November,  however,  the  Turkish  of- 
ficials with  the  Germans  and  Austrians  began  to 
take  their  flight  along  the  Shechem  road,  where 
from  the  towers  of  the  city  or  from  the  Mount  of 
Olives,  one  could  see  a  double  line  of  dust  rising 
for  several  days  as  a  continuous  stream  of  carts 
and  camels  made  what  haste  they  could  with  their 
heavy  loads.     The  German  commander,  Falken- 

191 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

hayn,  marched  down  from  Aleppo  with  much 
bluster  of  eflScient  Kultur  to  pull  together  the  de- 
moralized army,  but  in  a  day  or  two  he  decided  to 
follow  the  dusty  way  along  the  road  to  Shechem. 
When  on  December  8,  General  Allenby's  troops 
appeared  in  sight  of  Jerusalem,  a  wild  panic  seized 
the  Turks  who  still  lingered  weakly  about  the  city. 
Some  threw  away  their  guns  as  they  fled;  others 
driven  by  their  oflScers  were  compelled  to  pick  up 
their  arms  and  stagger  along  hopelessly  to  the 
hills. 

But  the  inhabitants  of  the  land — Syrians,  Jews 
and  Arabs,  who  had  prayed  for  deliverance  from 
the  misrule  of  the  Turk — -w^ere  transported  with 
joy.  They  had  had  glimpses  of  the  prosperity 
of  Egypt  under  the  fair  treatment  of  the  English. 
Arab  traders,  too,  who  had  been  delivered  from 
pirates  blessed  the  strong  arm  of  England,  whose 
navy  policed  the  waters  which  the  Turk  had  never 
succeeded  in  making  safe  for  commerce.  After 
four  hundred  years  of  hateful  bondage  to  rulers 
who  had  done  nothing  for  the  development  of  the 
country,  but  had  through  their  oppressions 
robbed  it  of  all  its  fertility  and  wealth,  the  Jews 
also  saw  the  dawn  of  a  new  era  of  freedom  and 
peace.     There  was  a  great  running  to  and  fro  by 

192 


Photograph  by  I'rt-BH  lllustratiriK  Service,  Inc. 

(.ENEUAL  SIH  EDMUND  ALLENBY 
Cornmundcr-in-C'liiff  of  the  Egyptiun  Expi'ditionury  Force 


THE  DELIVERER  OF  JERUSALEM 

girls  and  women  calling  to  men  who  had  hidden 
away  for  fear  of  being  seized  for  deportation. 
*'The  Turks  are  running,"  they  cried.  **The  day 
of  deliverance  is  come ! ' ' 

On  December  10  the  encircling  of  the  city  was 
complete.  Welsh  and  English  troops  from  the 
direction  of  Bethlehem,  driving  back  the  enemy  on 
the  east,  commanded  the  road  to  Jericho,  and  at 
the  same  time  there  was  an  attack  on  the  north  and 
northwest.  The  city  surrendered  without  a  shot 
being  fired  within  its  walls. 

At  noon  on  December  11,  1917,  just  four  hun- 
dred years  after  the  capture  of  the  city  by  the  Turks 
in  1517,  General  Allenby  entered  Jerusalem  rev- 
erently on  foot,  accompanied  by  the  commanders 
of  the  French  and  Italian  detachments,  and  the 
military  attaches  of  France,  Italy  and  America. 
At  the  Jaffa  gate  they  were  received  by  guards 
representing  the  troops  of  the  different  nations 
who  had  taken  part  in  the  campaign — England, 
Scotland,  Ireland,  Wales,  Australia,  New  Zealand, 
India,  France,  and  Italy.  It  was  as  if  each  in 
that  solemn  moment  of  triumph  gave  thanks  in  the 
name  of  his  nation  and  of  humanity  for  the  deliver- 
ance of  the  city  of  the  Prince  of  Peace. 

There  were  some  there  who  contrasted  this 
193 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

humble  reverent  procession  with  the  pomp  of  the 
German  emperor's  entry  in  1898,  when  a  portion 
of  the  wall  was  thrown  down  in  order  that  he  and 
his  imperial  escort  would  not  have  to  ride  out  of 
their  direct  path  to  one  of  the  ancient  gates. 
"Could  there  be  a  more  perfect  symbol  of  the  dif- 
ference between  the  aims  of  the  nations  who  are 
fighting  for  the  peace  of  the  world,  and  the  Ger- 
mans who  with  their  Turkish  allies  are  struggling 
to  preserve  their  autocratic  power!"  it  was  asked. 
General  Allenby's  proclamation  was  a  further 
illustration  of  the  spirit  of  the  conquerors  who 
had  driven  out  the  Turk  and  now  guaranteed  to 
the  oppressed  peoples  of  the  land  the  right  to  work 
out  their  salvation  in  their  own  way.  Written  in 
Arabic,  Hebrew,  English,  French,  Italian,  Greek 
and  Russian,  it  gave  the  following  assurance : 

Lest  any  of  you  be  alarmed  by  reason  of  your  experience 
at  the  hands  of  the  enemy  who  has  retired,  I  hereby  inform 
you  that  it  is  my  desire  that  every  person  should  pursue  his 
lawful  business  without  fear  of  interruption.  Furthennore, 
since  your  city  is  regarded  with  affection  by  the  adherents 
of  three  of  the  great  religions  of  mankind,  and  its  soil  has 
been  consecrated  by  the  prayers  and  pilgrimages  of  devout 
people  of  these  religions  for  many  centuries,  therefore,  I 
make  it  known  to  you  that  eveiy  sacred  building,  monument, 
holy  spot,  shrine,  traditional  site,  endowment,  pious  bequest, 
or  customary  place  of  prayer  of  whatsoever  form  of  the  three 

194 


THE  DELIVERER  OF  JERUSALEM 

religions  will  be  maintained   according  to  the  existing  cus- 
toms and  beliefs  of  those  to  whose  faith  they  are  sacked. 

Guardians  have  been  established  at  Bethlehem  and  on 
Rachel's  tomb.  The  tomb  at  Hebron  has  been  placed  under 
exclusive  Moslem  control.  The  hereditary  custodians  at  the 
gates  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  have  been  requested  to  take  up 
their  accustomed  duties  in  remembrance  of  the  magnanimous 
act  of  the  Caliph  Omar  who  protected  that  church. 

About  the  famous  Mosque  of  Omar  a  cordon  of 
Mohammedan  guards  were  stationed,  beyond  which 
only  Moslems  might  pass. 

*'We  are  in  the  hands  of  a  just  man,  Allah  be 
praised!"  said  a  tall  Arab,  who  looked  half-derv- 
ish, half -brigand,  with  a  devout  gesture.  "And 
the  name,  Allenby,  is  a  sign  to  the  enlightened — 
Allah  Xabi,  which  is  to  say  God  and  Prophet,  We 
Arabs  have  a  prophecy:  'He  who  shall  save  Jeru- 
salem and  exalt  her  among  the  nations  will  enter 
the  city  on  foot,  and  his  name  shall  be  God,  the 
Prophet.'  " 

There  was  no  diflficulty  in  holding  the  "occupied 
territory"  held  in  trust  by  Allenby 's  army,  for 
the  inhabitants  of  the  land  in  their  joyful  welcome 
of  the  conquerors  made  it  clear  that  to  them  it 
was  liberated  territory.  Many  of  the  Jewish 
youth  who  had  succeeded  in  evading  the  Turks 
begged  to  be  allowed  to  join  the  ranks  of  tlieir 

195 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

deliverers,  even  though  they  knew  that  they  would 
suffer  dire  punishment  should  the  fortunes  of  war 
restore  their  former  masters  to  power. 

Preparations  for  a  second  campaign  included 
extensive  road  making  and  completion  of  lines  of 
communication.  Large  armies  of  laborers  from 
Egypt  assisted  the  natives  in  laying  macadam  and 
dirt  roads  throughout  southern  Palestine.  The 
railway  from  Cairo  was  now  double  tracked  and 
the  bridge  across  the  Nile  finished,  thus  greatly  re 
dueing  the  amount  of  necessary  re-loading  and 
simplifying  the  problem  of  supplies. 

During  the  winter  rains  and  summer  heat  active 
campaigning  was  of  course  impossible,  but  in  the 
autumn  of  1918,  General  Allenby,  now  strongly 
established  in  the  land  about  Jaffa  and  Jerusalem, 
was  ready  for  a  drive  northward.  Soon  the  Turks 
were  swept  from  the  country  that  had  not  only 
been  feeding  their  army  but  also  sending  impor- 
tant contributions  to  Constantinople  and  Berlin. 

The  first  advance  was  made  along  the  coast. 
Following  the  plan  that  had  succeeded  so  bril- 
liantly at  Beersheba,  the  troops  moved  forward  un- 
der the  cover  of  night,  remaining  hidden  in  orange 
and  olive  groves  during  the  day.  Thus  the  Turks 
from  their  observation  posts  saw  no  tell-tale  col- 

196 


THE  DELIVERER  OF  JERUSALEM 

umns  of  dust,  and,  since  the  Allies'  air-fleet  was 
able  to  sweep  the  sky  clear  of  enemy  planes,  they 
could  learn  nothing  of  the  movements  of  his  army. 
Again  as  in  his  earlier  victories,  the  artillery  and 
infantry  swept  through  the  most  elaborate  sys- 
tem of  defenses,  opening  a  gate-way  along  the 
coast  for  the  cavalry  which  swung  around  to  attack 
from  the  east  the  villages  that  were  already  under 
fire  from  the  south. 

''This  skilful  use  of  the  cavalry  was  the  most 
effective  as  well  as  the  most  spectacular  feature 
of  the  Palestine  campaign,"  said  one  of  Allenby's 
men.  "It  was  a  wonderful  sight — the  charge  of 
the  Australian  light  horse  and  the  splendid  Indian 
troopers  through  the  coast  country  to  the  rear  of 
the  enemy.  Sweeping  through  wadis  and  heavy 
sand  as  if  there  could  be  no  obstacles,  the  cavalry 
rounded  up  the  Turks  before  they  knew  that  they 
were  being  attacked." 

So  thorough  was  Allenby's  preparations,  from 
the  perfect  organization  of  supply  transports- 
carts,  lorries,  camel  trains  and  donkey  liles— to  the 
timing  of  artillery  and  infantry  assaults  in  con- 
junction with  the  cavalry  dash,  that  in  little  more 
than  a  fortnight  the  whole  country  north  of  .Jeru- 
salem to  Damascus  and  beyond  had  been  wrested 

197 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

from  the  Turk.  The  submarine  bases  at  Haifa 
and  Beirut,  which  had  menaced  the  whole  of  the 
eastern  Mediterranean,  were  taken,  and  those 
harbors  opened  for  supply  ships,  so  that  no  longer 
would  the  army  be  compelled  to  depend  on  the  rail- 
way across  the  desert. 

The  victory  was  complete.  The  Turkish  forces, 
killed  or  captured,  were  put  out  of  existence  as 
armies,  and  all  of  their  material  of  war  destroyed 
or  seized.  "The  whole  country  w^hich  I  have 
passed  through  is  littered  with  abandoned  and 
bombed  transport  and  ammunition  depots,  motors, 
lorries,  and  a  large  amount  of  rolling  stock,"  wrote 
a  newspaper  correspondent  on  September  22. 

Would  the  Turks  try  to  gather  together  another 
army  to  dispatch  to  Aleppo  to  meet  the  two  armies 
converging  upon  that  point — General  Marshall 
from  his  victories  in  Mesopotamia  and  General 
Allenby  by  way  of  Palestine?  The  surrender  of 
Turkey  to  the  Allies  on  October  31  put  an  end  to 
all  conjectures.  The  dominion  of  the  Turk  over 
unfortunate,  subject  peoples — Armenians,  Jews, 
Syrians,  and  Arabs — was  broken.  A  new  victory 
had  been  won  for  peace. 

And  Palestine,  the  land  which  like  a  well-spring 
of  spiritual  comfort  and  inspiration  has  given  the 

198 


THE  DELIVERER  OF  JERUSALEM 

world  its  greatest  religious  faiths,  is  to  have  an 
opportunity  for  free  and  untrammeled  develop- 
ment. Those  Jews  who  have  never  ceased  to  feel 
that  they  are  exiles  in  other  lands  may  return  there 
to  build  up  a  nation  about  a  restored  Jerusalem. 

Dr.  John  H.  Finley,  who  as  Commissioner  of 
the  American  Red  Cross  spent  some  time  in  Pales- 
tine, gave  us  a  picture  of  General  Allenby,  the 
Crusader  of  the  World  War.  *'An  evening  that 
I  shall  longest  remember,"  he  said,  '*was  one  that 
I  spent  with  him  at  G.  H.  Q.  over  the  Bible  and 
George  Adam  Smith's  Geography  of  the  Holy 
Land.  Here  was  a  powerful,  blunt-spoken,  de- 
manding warrior,  with  the  mind  of  a  statesman 
and  with  a  smile  that  would  bring  the  children  of 
the  world  in  a  crusade  behind  him." 

It  is  thus,  or  walking  reverently  with  the  officers 
of  his  staff  into  the  holy  city,  that  I  like  to  think 
of  the  victorious  commander,  General  Allenby, 
fighter  for  peace. 


199 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  GARIBALDI 
VICTOR  EMANUEL  AND  HIS  ARMIES 


The  graves  burst  asunder,  the  dead  rise  to  aid  us; 

The  martyrs  and  heroes  whose  sacrifice  made  us, 
With  swords  firmly  grasped  and  with  brows  wreath'd  with 
laurel. 

They  rise  now  Italia's  freedom  to  greet! 
Then  hasten,  then  haste!     Onward  press,  brave  battalions! 
Fling  wide  to  the  breeze  freedom's  banner,  Italians! 
With  sword  and  with  musket  press  on  in  your  ardor, 

With  hearts  that  alone  for  Italia  beat! 
Ye  aliens  abandon  our  home-land  Italian, 

The  hour  is  at  hand,  shake  its  dust  from  your  feet! 

Garibaldi's  War  Hymn. 


THE  SPIEIT  OF  GARIBALDI 

THERE  was  once  a  man  whom  the  world  called 
a  dreamer,  but  it  happened  that  he  had  the 
power   of   dreaming   true.     He    saw   his   nation, 
Italy,— a  people  with  the  most  glorious  heritage 
of  service  to  humanity  in  the  realms  of  law,  art, 
literature,  and  science— a  people  without  a  coun- 
try.    For  the  nation  that  had  given  to  the  world 
Ceesar,  Marcus  Aurelius,  Dante,  Michael  Angelo, 
Galileo  and  Columbus,  was  an  unhappy  collection 
of  little  warring  states  ruled  over  by  tyrants  who 
were  the  puppets  of  a  foreign  power— Austria. 
He  saw  the  people  of  Italy  struggling  helplessly, 
vainly,  to  win  freedom  to  live  their  life  and  work 
out  their  destiny  in  their  own  way.     The  dreamer, 
Mazzini,  of  all  the  sons  of  Italy  best  understood 
the  heart  and  the  disappointed  hopes  of  this  di- 
vided nation. 

''There  must  go  forth,"  he  said,  ''from  the 
midst  of  the  old  Italy  that  sees  itself  bound  hand 
and  foot,  and  says  'Submission  is  the  only  wis- 
dom!' the  spirit  of  a  young  Italy  that  gloriously 

203 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

dares  everything  to  win  freedom  for  our  native 
land." 

That  first  vision  of  the  dreamer  came  to  pass. 
There  sprang  up  on  every  hand  in  answer  to  liis 
call  young,  eager  souls  ready  to  live — and  die  if 
need  be — for  a  new,  liberated  Italy.  They  were 
for  the  most  part  humble,  unknown  youths,  rich 
only  in  their  daring  and  their  burning  faith. 

**A11  great  national  movements,"  wrote  Maz- 
zini,  ''begin  with  the  unknown  mass  of  the  people, 
without  influence  except  for  the  faith  and  will 
that  counts  not  diflSculties." 

The  lovers  of  liberty  who  gathered  about  the 
dreamer  called  themselves  ''Young  Italy,"  and 
this  was  the  oath  of  their  order : 

"In  the  name  of  God  and  of  Italy.  In  the  name 
of  all  the  martyrs  of  the  holy  Italian  cause  who 
have  fallen  beneath  foreign  and  domestic  tyranny. 
By  the  love  I  bear  to  the  land  that  gave  my  mother 
birth,  and  will  be  the  home  of  my  children.  By  the 
blush  that  rises  to  my  brow  when  I  stand  before 
the  citizens  of  other  lands,  to  know  that  I  have  no 
rights  of  citizenship,  no  country  and  no  national 
flag.  By  the  memory  of  our  former  greatness  and 
the  sense  of  our  present  degradation.  By  the 
tears  of  Italian  mothers  for  their  sons  dead  on  the 

204 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  GARIBALDI 

scaffold,  in  prison,  or  in  exile.  By  the  sufferings 
of  the  millions — I  swear  to  dedicate  myself  wholly 
and  forever  to  striving  to  constitute  Italy  one, 
free,  independent,  republican  nation." 

The  torch  was  lighted  and  Young  Italy  was 
handing  it  on  from  one  cold,  unthinking,  or  de- 
spairing group  to  another  until  the  land  was  aflame 
with  patriotic  ardor.  But  ever^'w^here  there  were 
Austrian  spies  ready  to  stamp  out  the  glowing 
fires.  How  could  the  dream  come  true?  Italy's 
soul  was  awake,  but  where  was  the  sword  and  the 
mighty  hand  to  draw  it  in  the  name  of  liberty  ? 

Then  there  came  to  Mazzini  a  man  to  whom  to 
feel  and  think  meant  to  act,  and  he  knew  that  the 
cause  had  found  its  captain.  Giuseppe  Garibaldi 
— whose  name  itself  meant  ''bold  in  war" — 
would  be  the  mighty  arm  of  Italy  to  strike  the 
first  blow  in  the  fight  for  freedom. 

The  new  leader  came  of  humble  people  who  had 
worked  hard  to  give  their  bright,  promising  boy 
a  good  start  in  the  world,  hoping  that  he  would 
make  a  priest.  "There  is  nothing  like  learning," 
said  his  father  who  was  a  sailor  on  a  trading  ves- 
sel. "Many  voyages  make  you  love  home;  and 
many  questions  make  you  long  to  know  what  the 
books  can  teach." 

205 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

** There  is  nothing  like  going  and  doing,"  said 
the  boy.  "The  more  I  read  the  more  I  hate  to  sit 
still  and  hear  about  things,  instead  of  getting  out 
and  being  a  part  of  them.     I  want  to  be  a  sailor." 

''You  have  the  adventuring  fancy,"  said  his 
father  with  a  sigh.  "The  sea  has  cast  its  spell 
on  you."  But  he  took  the  lad  with  him  on  his 
next  voyage. 

It  was  a  great  day  for  the  boy  when  he  first  saw 
Rome.  As  he  gazed  upon  the  Eternal  City  his 
heart  was  strangely  stirred.  How  wonderful  was 
the  past  when  Rome  had  been  the  capital  of  the 
world,  and  how  pitiful  was  the  present !  He  heard 
it  whispered,  "When  will  Italy  have  faith  in  the 
future  as  well  as  pride  in  the  past,  and  boldly  rise 
up,  a  free  nation,  with  courage  to  cast  out  her 
foreign  masters?" 

That  trip  to  Rome  was  the  beginning  of  a  new 
existence.  Even  while  he  exulted  in  the  bold,  free 
life  of  the  sea,  he  felt  a  strange  undercurrent  of 
sadness.  Italy,  the  fairest  and  most  glorious  of 
countries,  was  in  chains.  He  had  longed  to  fare 
forth  and  taste  the  spice  of  adventure  in  far-off 
lands;  now  he  knew  that  the  great  adventure 
awaited  him  at  home  in  the  fight  for  his  country's 
freedom. 

206 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  GARIBALDI 

As  the  visit  to  Rome  was  the  first  real  event  of 
Garibaldi's  life,  so  the  meeting  with  Mazzini  was 
the  second.  The  heart  and  hand  of  Young  Italy 
were  paired.  But  the  time  was  not  ripe  for  the 
crusade.  Garibaldi,  who  had  enlisted  in  the  navy 
in  order  that  he  might  win  the  sailors  to  the  great 
cause,  found  that  he  was  counted  a  conspirator 
against  the  country  he  longed  to  serve,  and  that 
his  life  was  forfeit. 

An  exile  from  Italy,  the  young  patriot  went  to 
South  America,  and  was  soon  in  the  midst  of  the 
struggles  of  the  peoples  there  for  liberty.  He 
gathered  about  him  a  band  of  his  fellow  country- 
men who  had  sought  refuge  or  adventure  in  the 
new  world.  The  cause  of  freedom  in  Uruguay 
and  Brazil  owed  much  to  the  free-lance.  Garibaldi, 
who  proved  himself  a  veritable  genius  of  imjiro- 
vised,  guerilla  warfare,  and  a  born  leader  of  men. 
His  disinterested  enthusiasm  kindled  ardor  in  oth- 
ers and  won  a  loyal,  devoted  following.  For  four- 
teen years  he  lived  and  served  the  people's  cause 
in  South  America,  knowing  all  the  time  that  ho 
was  preparing  himself  for  the  day  when  he  could 
return  with  his  "Legion"  to  fight  for  Italy. 

That  great  moment  came  in  1848,  when  the  spirit 
of  democracy  swelled  like  a  mighty  flood  through 

207 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

Europe,  sweeping  all  before  it.  In  France  the 
people  succeeded  in  overthrowing  the  monarchy 
imposed  upon  them  after  the  defeat  of  Napoleon ; 
and  in  other  countries  thrones  trembled  and  the 
people  were  granted  constitutions.  In  Italy,  the 
King  of  Sardinia  and  Piedmont,  Charles  Albert, 
the  one  ruler  in  divided  Italy  wiio  was  an  Italian 
at  heart,  found  courage  to  revolt  against  the  tyr- 
anny of  Austria.  To  him  Garibaldi  appeared 
with  his  Legion  of  fifty  picked  men  of  those  who 
had  proved  themselves  in  the  forests  and  on  the 
plains  of  South  America.  If  the  King  looked 
coldly  at  this  wild  band  in  their  scarlet  shirts  and 
slouch  hats  of  many  strange  sorts,  the  people 
did  not.  The  fame  of  Garibaldi's  exploits  had 
thrilled  Italians  at  home,  and  in  a  short  time 
thirty  thousand  lovers  of  freedom  gathered  under 
the  banner  of  the  popular  hero.  The  sword  arm 
of  Young  Italy  was  ready  to  strike. 

As  we  pass  in  review  the  marvellous  story  of 
Garibaldi's  leadership,  and  seek  to  discover  the 
secret  of  the  power  that  made  him  first  in  the 
battles  for  freedom  and  first  in  the  hearts  of 
Italians,  let  us  recall  the  tribute  of  the  admiral 
of  the  British  squadron  who  knew  him  in  South 
America:    ''He  was  the  only  truly  disinterested 

208 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  GARIBALDI 

individual  I  knew;  and  his  courage  was  equalled 
by  his  great  military  talent."  Always  fighting 
against  heavy  odds,  he  went  from  victory  to  vic- 
tory for  a  redeemed  Italy,  wearing  his  success 
and  his  power  as  simply  as  he  had  ever  worn  his 
red  shirt  and  scarlet-lined  poncho,  which  were  to 
his  followers  as  the  helmet  of  Navarre  in  another 
historic  struggle.  There  were  times  when  Victor 
Emmanuel  I  of  Italy,  (son  and  successor  of  Charles 
Albert  of  Sardinia),  and  his  minister,  Cavour, 
whose  masterly  diplomacy  at  the  helm  of  the  ship 
of  state  carried  the  newly-made  constitutional 
monarchy  through  many  storms,  fairly  held  their 
breath.  Would  victory  and  popularity  make  of 
Young  Italy's  General  another  Napoleon?  But 
that  "Grand  Old  Lion  of  Democracy"  had  only 
one  ambition — to  see  Italy  free.  And  when  it  was 
clear  that  the  organization  and  discipline  of  the 
regular  army  fettered  his  powers,  Victor  Em- 
manuel said,  "Go  where  you  like,  ilo  what  you 
like;  I  feel  only  one  regret,  that  I  am  not  able  to 
follow  you." 

As  he  was  unspoiled  by  fair  fortune,  so  he  was 
undismayed  when  at  the  turn  of  her  wheel  he  was 
cast  down.  There  was  a  dark  time  when  Italy 
was  not  only  fighting  Austria,  hut  also  France, 

209 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

her  erstwhile  friend  and  ally,  since  Louis  Na- 
poleon had  come  to  the  support  of  the  Pope  in  his 
protest  against  the  separation  of  Church  and 
State.  Garibaldi,  again  forced  into  exile,  lived 
for  a  while  in  New  York,  where  he  earned  his  liv- 
ing making  tallow  candles.  ''Each  one  is  a  taper 
for  liberty,"  he  used  to  say,  his  glowing  brown 
eyes  alight  with  the  smile  that  won  the  hearts  of 
all  who  knew  him. 

Garibaldi  lived  to  see  the  greater  part  of  his 
beloved  Italy  an  independent  country  under  one 
flag,  but  still  Austria  held  in  her  grip  the  Trentino 
which  put  at  her  back  the  mountains  that  formed 
Italy's  natural  boundary  and  bulwark.  The  an- 
cient enemy  had,  then,  a  position  of  military  con- 
trol over  Lombardy  and  Venetia,  and,  indeed,  of 
the  whole  ''boot,"  since  the  valleys  of  the  Tren- 
tino led  into  the  heart  of  the  richest  industrial 
and  commercial  territory  of  Italy. 

Well  did  Nature  for  our  State  provide, 
"When  the  bulwark  of  the  Alps  she  put 
Tvvixt  us  and  German  fury, 

sang  the  poet  Petrarch.  The  claim,  therefore, 
upon  the  portion  of  Italia  irredenta  (unredeemed 
Italy)  known  as  the  Trentino,  is  based  not  only 
upon  tradition  and  sentiment — upon  the  fact  that 

210 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  GARIBALDI 

it  once  was  Italy  and  still  is,  for  the  most  part, 
Italy  in  feeling  and  speech — but  also,  and  even 
more  compellingly  upon  the  necessity  of  self- 
preservation.  Austria's  position  on  the  com- 
manding peaks  with  control  over  the  gateways — 
mountain  passes  and  river  beds — into  the  neigh- 
boring dominion,  was  a  perpetual  menace. 

All  true  Italians  feel  that  the  leaders  of  the 
struggle  for  a  free,  united  country — Mazzini, 
Garibaldi  and  Cavour — watch  from  their  graves 
to  see  the  completion  of  their  work.  When  Cavour 
died  Rome  and  Venice  were  still  unredeemed. 
''They  are  the  heart  and  crown  of  Italy,"  he  said; 
''they  must  soon  be  hers.  As  to  the  Trentino  and 
the  Tyrol,  that  is  the  work  of  another  generation." 
Not  only  to  the  old  men  of  that  next  generation 
but  to  their  stalwart  sons  were  those  words  a 
solemn  charge. 

Austria  was  also  still  in  possession  of  the  east- 
ern coast  of  the  Adriatic— Istria  and  Dalmatia, 
which  were  until  Napoleon  meddled  with  the  map 
of  Europe,  part  of  Venetia.  The  port  of  Trieste, 
although  it  had  been  subject  to  Austria  for  sev- 
eral centuries,  was  in  population  two-thirds  Italian 
to  one-third  Slav.  This  coast  land  which  belonged 
to  Italy  historically  was,  moreover,  hers  by  the 

211 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

hard  logic  of  geographical  position,  since  the 
Adriatic  must,  for  any  reasonable  security  to  the 
people  of  the  peninsula,  be  in  effect  an  Italian  sea, 
as  the  eastern  coast  of  Italy  is  entirely  at  the 
mercy  of  the  opposite  shore  which  possesses  the 
natural  harbors.  The  waters  enclosed  by  the 
Istrian  Peninsula  and  Dalmatia  had  been  during 
the  reign  of  the  Cassars  a  Roman  lake,  and  at  a 
later  period  the  queen-lagoon  of  Venice.  The 
poet  d'Annunzio  speaks  for  Italians  everywhere 
when  he  says :  ' '  The  name  of  this  deep  sea,  where 
the  foam  on  every  wave  is  a  flower  of  Italian 
glory,  is  and  shall  be  forever,  in  the  language  of  all 
nations,  the  Gulf  of  Venice." 

With  all  the  bitter  memories  of  past  wrongs  and 
the  ever-present  longing  to  reclaim  the  Italia  ir- 
redenta represented  by  Trieste  and  the  Trentino, 
how  did  it  happen  that  Italy  became  a  member  of 
the  Triple  Alliance,  linking  herself  by  treaty  to  her 
ancient  enemy  ?  Many  thought  Italy 's  moral  posi- 
tion at  the  beginning  of  the  Great  War  as  inde- 
fensible as  her  geographical  frontiers.  *'Why 
make  an  alliance  one  day  to  break  it  the  next?" 
said  the  man  in  the  street.  ''Italy  is  going  to  be 
sure  to  cast  in  her  lot  with  the  winning  side." 

The   Triple  Alliance  was,   however,  from  the 
212 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  GARIBALDI 

standpoint  of  Italy  nothing  but  a  league  to  en- 
force peace.  At  the  time  it  was  formed  in  1882, 
she  wanted  above  all  else  a  chance  for  internal 
adjustment  and  quiet  growth.  According  to  the 
terms  of  the  pact  the  allies  were  bound  to  come 
to  the  assistance  of  one  of  their  number  onlj'  in 
case  that  nation  was  attacked  by  another  power. 
This  provision  for  mutual  defense  was  further 
qualified  by  Italy's  stipulation  that  she  should  in 
no  event  be  involved  in  a  war  with  Great  Britain. 
For  Italy  is  linked  to  England  by  the  triple  bond 
of  traditional  friendship,  kindred  ideals,  and  ma- 
terial interest ;  and,  should  the  first  two  links  fail, 
her  exposed  position  in  the  Mediterranean  would 
make  it  suicidal  for  her  to  be  party  to  a  quarrel 
with  the  Mistress  of  the  Seas. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  Great  War,  therefore, 
Italy's  position  was  in  no  sense  dubious.  She  at 
once  declared  herself  neutral  since  her  partners 
in  the  Alliance  were  the  aggressors.  Though  her 
sympathies  were  all  with  those  who  were  fighting 
for  freedom  and  a  just  peace,  she  hesitated  to 
fling  herself  headlong  into  the  arena.  For  Italy 
has  to  depend  on  other  nations  for  coal,  iron,  and 
food  enough  for  her  people.  How  could  she  go 
unprepared  into  war? 

213 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

So  much  for  considerations  of  common  pru- 
dence which  the  guiding  powers  of  a  nation  do 
well  to  weigh  carefully.  But  what  of  the  spirit 
of  Garibaldi — the  crusading  spirit  that  rides 
against  wrong  and  injustice  without  counting  the 
cost — was  that  dead  in  the  land? 

As  soon  as  the  war  broke  out  the  seven  grand- 
sons of  the  beloved  patriot  foregathered  from  the 
four  corners  of  the  earth — two  from  America,  one 
from  a  sugar  plantation  in  Cuba,  two  from  en- 
gineering tasks  in  China  and  in  Egypt,  and  the 
two  youngest  from  schools  in  Italy — to  take  part 
in  the  struggle.  Six  of  them  (one  could  not  leave 
his  railway  in  China  until  Italy  entered  the  war) 
volunteered  for  service  in  the  Foreign  Legion  in 
France;  and  a  sister,  Italia,  who  had  been  or- 
ganizing Red  Cross  work  in  Rio  de  Janeiro,  was 
also  ready  to  serve.  Let  us  hear  what  the  Gari- 
baldis themselves  had  to  say  about  Italy  and  the 
war : 

''I  don't  recall,"  said  Colonel  Giuseppe  Gari- 
baldi to  a  sympathetic  listener  as  they  sat  at  sup- 
per one  January  evening  in  his  hut  on  the  Italian 
Alpine  front,  "I  don't  recall  anything  that  was 
actually  said  between  us  on  the  subject,  but  it 
seemed   to    be    generally    understood   among   us 

214 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  GARIBALDI 

brothers  that  the  shedding  of  some  Garibaldi 
blood— or,  better  still,  the  sacrifice  of  a  Garibaldi 
life — would  be  calculated  to  throw  a  great,  per- 
haps a  decisive,  weight  into  the  wavering  balance 
in  Italy,  where  a  growing  sympathy  for  the  cause 
of  the  Allies  only  needed  a  touch  to  quicken  it 
into  action.  Indeed  I  think  that  my  father  said 
something  to  that  effect  to  the  two  younger  boys 
before  he  sent  them  on  to  France.  .  .  .  Well — 
Bruno  got  his  bullet  the  last  week  in  December, 
and  Constante  fell  on  the  5th  of  January.  Ezio 
— the  youngest  of  the  three  fire-eaters — had  to 
wait  to  take  his  bullet  from  the  Austrians  on  our 
own  front. 

*'The  attack  in  which  Bruno  fell  was  one  of  the 
finest  things  I  have  ever  seen.  General  Gouraud 
sent  for  me  in  person  to  explain  why  a  certain 
system  of  trenches  must  be  taken  and  held,  no 
matter  what  the  price.  We  mustered  for  Llass 
at  midnight — it  was  Christmas  or  the  day  after, 
I  believe — and  the  memory  of  the  icicle-framed 
altar  in  the  ruined,  roofless  churcli,  with  the  flick- 
ering candles  throwing  just  enough  light  to  sil- 
houette the  tall  form  of  Gouraud,  who  stood  in 
front  of  me,  will  never  fade  from  my  mind. 

**We  went  over  the  parapet  before  daybreak, 
215 


FIGHTEES  FOR  PEACE 

and  it  was  in  the  first  light  of  the  cold  winter  dawn 
that  I  saw  Bruno— plainly  hit— straighten  up  from 
his  running  crouch  and  topple  into  the  first  of  the 
German  trenches.  He  was  up  before  I  could 
reach  him,  however,  and  I  saw  him  clamber  up  on 
the  other  side,  and,  running  without  hitch  or  stag- 
ger, lead  his  men  in  pursuit  of  the  fleeing  enemy. 

**They  found  his  body,  with  six  bullet  wounds 
upon  it,  lying  where  the  gust  from  a  machine- 
gun  had  caught  him  as  he  tried  to  climb  out  and 
lead  his  men  beyond  the  last  of  the  trenches  we 
had  been  ordered  to  take  and  hold.  He  had 
charged  into  the  trench,  thrown  out  the  enemy, 
and  made— for  whatever  it  was  worth — the  first 
sacrifice  of  his  own  generation  of  Garibaldi.  We 
sent  his  body  to  my  father  and  mother  in  Rome, 
where,  as  you  will  remember,  his  funeral  was  made 
the  occasion  of  the  most  remarkable  patriotic  dem- 
onstration Italy  has  known  in  recent  years.  Con- 
stante's  death  a  few  days  later  only  gave  added 
impulse  to  the  wave  of  popular  feeling  which  was 
soon  to  align  Italy  where  she  belonged,  in  the  fore- 
front of  the  fight  for  the  freedom  of  Europe. ' ' 

Any  one  who  has  read  about  the  Italian  cam- 
paign in  the  Alps  knows  that  the  Garibaldi  spirit 

216 


I'hoK-Krupli   l.y    lani    ll,..ri,i.»..f, 

\  U'lOU  KMMANTKI.  Ill 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  GARIBALDI 

was  not  confined  to  those  of  the  name  and  blood; 
but,  from  Victor  Emmanuel  III,  patriot-king  and 
comrade  of  his  men  on  the  battle  front,  to  the  faith- 
ful workers  at  the  end  of  the  communication  lines, 
all  were  of  one  mind  and  heart.     Many  are  the 
stories  told  of  the  courage  and  kindliness  of  the 
king,  for  to  the  people  this  monarch  who  "reigns 
but  does  not  rule"  is  the  incarnate  spirit  of  Italy. 
...  A  wounded  boy  had  been  brought  into  a  field 
hospital  in  the  Trentino  after  a  violent  attack  on 
the  Italian  trenches.     Seeing  the  King  who  was 
going  about  as  his  habit  was  among  the  men  await- 
ing the  care  of  the  surgeons,  he  roused  himself  and 
pointed  proudly  to  his  shattered  leg.    **For  you, 
sire!"  he  said.     ''No,"  replied  the  King,  looking 
into  the  boy's  eyes  with  simple  friendliness  and 
raising  his  hand  to  the  military  salute,  *'No,  my 
son,  not  for  me,  but  for  Italy!" 

"At  the  front  the  King  is  just  one  of  the  men," 
it  was  said,  "a  soldier  with  the  sense  of  duty  of  a 
soldier.  His  presence  is  militarily  unnecessary; 
he  attempts  no  leadership,  but  his  knowledge  is  of 
much  use  to  the  Staff  conducting  operations.  Of 
course  what  counts  most  is  his  presence,  or  rather 
his  life  at  the  front,  as  an  example.  He  has  none  of 
the  comforts  of  his  generals,  or  even  of  many  of 

217 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

his  colonels ;  and  this,  not  from  any  desire  to  pose, 
but  because  he  is  a  soldier  and  not  a  leader.  He 
sleeps  on  a  camp  bed  even  when  he  sleeps  in  a 
villa — these  are  small  but  not  useless  details — 
and  eats  at  a  table  covered  with  oilcloth,  taking  two 
courses  at  most,  like  the  rancio  of  his  soldiers. 
War  has  changed  in  methods  and  character;  the 
present  King's  grandfather  could  ride  in  the 
midst  of  his  fighting  soldiers  and  make  a  paint- 
able  picture,  but  the  present  sovereign  address- 
ing his  troops  would  make  an  unimpressive  figure. 
But  there  isn't  a  hospital  at  the  front  which  he 
has  not  visited,  and  his  relations  with  stricken 
soldiers  are  those  of  a  comrade." 

The  spirit  of  Garibaldi,  the  crusader,  who  loved 
Italy  and  freedom  more  than  life,  was  the  spirit 
that  animated  the  King  and  the  King's  armies. 
Can  you  imagine  what  the  Alpine  campaigns  were 
like — what  it  meant  to  advance  through  the  moun- 
tain passes  against  the  fire  of  the  enemy  en- 
trenched on  the  heights?  Every  peak  was  a  cita- 
del which  nature  had  made  well-nigh  impregnable. 
But  with  the  double  motive  of  guarding  the  gate- 
ways into  their  beloved  home-land  and  also  re- 
deeming her  crowning  glory  of  mountain  country 
from  the  Austrian  hold,  the  men  of  the   south 

218 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  GARIBALDI 

climbed  on  and  fought  on,  by  their  ready  action 
and  gaUant  heroism  overcoming  much  of  the  ini- 
tial advantage  that  position  gave  to  the  enemy. 

We  may  indicate  something  of  what  this  heroic 
endeavor  meant  when  we  recall  that  before  the  war 
Italy  had  only  one  corps  of  trained  mountain 
troops — the  famous  Alpini — while  to-day  there  is 
a  mighty  army  inured  to  perpendicular  warfare, 
and  all  that  calls  for  in  the  scaling  of  precipices 
and  glaciers;  in  battling  with  avalanches  and  land- 
slides as  well  as  with  cannons;  in  cutting  tunnels 
and  trenches  through  solid  rock;  and  in  building 
aerial  tramways  to  swing  supplies  along  wire  rope 
cables  from  peak  to  peak. 

Was  there  ever  such  amazing  warfare  as  that 
on  the  gleaming  heights  of  the  Alps  where  each 
summit  was  an  observation  post  or  a  stronghold 
whose  artillery  fire  loosened  avalanches  from  the 
slopes  to  overwhelm  the  assailants  below,  while 
the  enemy  could  remain  hidden  in  rocky  caves 
secure  from  bombardment?  One  such  fastness 
which  the  Italians  actually  stormed  and  captured 
included  an  elaborate  system  of  gun  clianibers, 
vaults  for  storing  ammunition  and  supplies,  and 
officers'  sleeping  quarters  with  communicating 
passages,  all  safely  nestled  in  the  heart  of  the 

219 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

craggy  peak.  ''The  Austrians  know  how  to  be 
comfortable;  perhaps  that  is  why  they  are  some- 
times  caught  napping,"  said  a  captain  of  the 
Alpini.  "Their  rock  galleries  were  even  heated 
and  lighted  by  electricity." 

Think  of  having  to  climb  with  the  impedimenta 
of  guns  and  blankets  and  lead  sure-footed  mules 
to  drag  cannon  and  carry  supply-packs  and  hos- 
pital equipment.  Over  the  teleferic  railways  v\  ire 
baskets  slide  along  the  stout  cables  to  help  carry 
field  guns,  ammunition,  food,  and  water  to  the 
heights,  and  bring  back  the  seriously  wounded 
one  or  two  at  a  time.  The  men,  camouflaged  in 
white  caps  and  coats  and  armed  with  ice-axes  and 
alpenstocks  as  well  as  guns,  frequently  went  for- 
ward on  skis,  by  means  of  which  they  could  in  a 
moment  descend  from  an  advanced  position  to  a 
sheltered  place  below. 

The  battles  of  the  peaks  have  more  in  common 
with  the  individual  fighting  of  olden  times  than 
anything  else  in  modern  warfare.  Astonishingly 
small  groups  of  men  may  surprise,  storm,  and — 
if  all  goes  well — carry  the  points  where  the  enemy 
lies  in  wait.  There  is  the  thrill  of  splendid  ad- 
venture in  an  expedition  where  a  snow-crowned 
summit  is  captured  by  twenty  men  or  a  difficult 

220 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  GARIBALDI 

pass  above  the  clouds  seized  by  a  single  company 
aided  only  by  three  or  four  field  guns. 

Large  forces  of  men  could  not  work  together 
on  that  battleground  of  heights  and  depths,  and 
if  they  could  it  would  be  impossible  to  solve  the 
problem  of  supplies  and  communication  lines. 
*'0n  the  ordinary  battle-fronts,  like  those  of 
France  and  Russia,"  said  Colonel  Garibaldi,  "it 
requires  rather  less  than  one  man  on  the  line  of 
communications  to  maintain  one  man  in  the  front- 
line trenches.  For  the  whole  Italian  front  the 
average  is  something  more  than  two  men  on  the 
communications  to  one  in  the  first  line;  but  at 
points  in  the  Alps  it  may  run  up  to  six,  or  even 
eight  or  ten  in  bad  weather."  The  daring 
fighters,  then,  are  the  apex  of  a  pyramid  which 
holds  because  it  stands  on  a  solid  base  of  sound 
organization. 

Sidney  Low  in  his  graphic  account  of  ''Italy  in 
the  War,"  gives  a  picture  of  the  storming  of 
Monte  Cristallo  whose  sheer  rock  face  risos  some 
5,000  feet  above  the  Italian  approach:  "The  Al- 
pini  attacked  it  armed  with  ropes,  climbing-irons, 
and  rock-drills.  For  a  week  they  worked  at  tlie 
escalade,  ignored  by  the  Austriaiis,  who  never  ex- 
pected that  any  attempt  could  l)e  made  to  reach 

221 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

them  up  this  apparently  insurmountable  cliff. 
But  the  pioneers  drove  rings  and  iron  pegs  into 
the  wall  of  rock,  and  from  day  to  day  mounted 
higher,  while  their  comrades  followed  up  the  lad- 
der they  had  made.  Gradually  they  collected  in 
the  gullies  and  clefts  under  the  summit;  and  then 
one  night  they  stole  out  on  the  crest  and  rushed 
the  Austrian  garrison,  too  surprised  and  dismayed 
to  offer  more  than  a  feeble  resistance  to  these 
shouting  groups  of  fierce  foes,  who  seemed  to  have 
descended  upon  them  out  of  the  clouds." 

As  the  Italians  won  their  way  by  faith,  daring, 
and  miracles  of  engineering  skill  from  point  to 
point  in  the  Trentine  Alps,  so  they  advanced  to- 
wards Trieste  across  the  treacherous  Isonzo  River 
and  through  mountain  fastnesses  that  blocked  the 
way.  The  passage  of  the  Isonzo  north  of  Gorizia 
under  the  deadly  fire  from  points  of  vantage  all 
around  was  one  of  the  most  marvellous  feats  of 
the  war.  Here  the  engineers  actually  turned  into 
another  channel  the  main  current  of  the  river 
which  flows  at  this  point  through  a  deep  gorge, 
and  constructed  bridges  over  the  shallow  stream 
that  remained.  This  work  was  all  done  stealthily 
at  night  and  the  water  rediverted  into  its  accus- 
tomed bed  at  daybreak.     By  means  of  the  bridges 

222 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  GARIBALDI 

so  built  and  pontoons,  the  Italians  swarmed  over 
the  river  and  dug  themselves  in  on  the  lower  levels 
of  the  Bainsizza  Plateau,  and  through  a  surprise 
attack,  gained  a  foothold  on  the  northern  edge  of 
the  rocky  upland  which  the  amazed  Austrians 
had  thought  impregnable.  Monte  Santo  was  sur- 
rounded and  captured  a  week  later  and  the  heights 
of  Monte  San  Gabriele  were  next  taken.  Before 
the  Austrians  could  recover  and  rally  their  forces 
the  Italians  had  seized  Gorizia. 

As  they  toiled  upward  and  onward,  the  con- 
querors were  consciously  building  for  the  future. 
Mountain  trails  grew  into  roads  where  lines  of 
concrete  posts  marked  the  ledges  of  the  precipices, 
and  bridges  of  stone  or  steel  were  built  over  the 
torrents.  In  many  places  two  roads  were  made, 
one  for  ascent  and  the  other  for  descent ;  and  pipe- 
lines were  run  from  the  valleys  to  carry  water  to 
the  crests  of  the  mountains.  The  engineering 
feats  of  the  Alpine  fighters  were  no  less  remark- 
able than  their  triumphs  at  arms. 

After  more  than  two  years  of  titanic  struggle 
that  carried  them  inch  by  inch  from  the  lowlands 
to  the  heights  fortified  by  Nature  and  surrounded 
by  the  Isonzo  as  by  a  moat,  it  seemed  that  the 
Italians  were  about  to  reach  the  rocky  gateway 

223 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

that  opened  into  the  castle  of  their  hopes — Trieste 
— when  they  were  suddenly  overwhelmed  by  dis- 
aster, and  obliged  to  yield  in  a  few  weeks  all  that 
they  had  so  hardly  won. 

The  loss  of  Russia  to  the  cause  of  the  Allies  ush- 
ered in  the  tragic  reverse.  Germany  shifted  100,- 
000  men  from  the  Russian  border  together  with 
some  of  her  heaviest  artillery  to  save  Trieste  for 
Austria;  but  before  launching  her  attack  she  be- 
gan her  offensive  with  intrigue.  The  Austrian 
socialists  were  encouraged  to  fraternize  with  their 
Italian  neighbors  and  assure  them  that  they  would 
make  war  against  war  by  refusing  to  fight  further. 
The  war  was  over  in  Russia,  they  said,  and  de- 
termined socialists  could  soon  put  an  end  to  it 
everj"\vhere.  When  the  vigilance  and  the  morale 
of  the  Italians  were  thoroughly  relaxed,  the  Aus- 
trian front  lines  were  suddenly  withdrawn  and  re- 
placed by  German  "shock  troops,"  who  broke 
through  the  Isonzo  front  with  a  terrific  rush,  and, 
by  threatening  to  outflank  the  armies,  compelled 
a  retreat  that  was  at  first  dangerously  like  a  rout. 
The  very  existence  of  the  armies  seemed  im- 
perilled. 

But  at  the  Piave  River,  which  had  been  a  train- 
ing-place for  recruits,  and  so  was  provided  with 

224 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  GARIBALDI 

a  system  of  modern  trenches  and  fortifications,  the 
Italians  rallied  for  a  determined  stand.  French 
and  British  infantry  were  arriving  to  help  restore 
the  morale  of  the  troops  shaken  by  defeat.  The 
line  on  the  Piave  held.  As  at  Verdun,  the  watch- 
word was  ''They  shall  not  pass!"  The  railroads 
were  destroyed  to  keep  the  enemy  from  bringing 
up  their  heavy  artillery;  the  area  between  Venice 
and  the  mouth  of  the  Piave  wms  flooded  to  prevent 
the  Austrians  from  crossing  the  river  there;  and 
the  sentinel  heights  overlooking  the  Piave  valley 
held  in  spite  of  the  most  desperate  onslaughts. 
The  Piave  will  rank  with  the  Marne  as  the  scene 
of  one  of  the  most  heroic  and  glorious  struggles 
of  all  time. 

It  seemed  as  if  Fate  demanded  that  after  their 
hard-won  successes  the  Italians  should  be  further 
proved  by  the  bitter  discipline  of  defeat  before 
tasting  the  fruits  of  victory.  Then,  in  the  summer 
of  1918,  when  the  Austrians  had  gathered  all  their 
forces  for  a  gigantic  offensive  on  the  Piave,  Italy 
won  as  decisive  a  triumph  as  that  of  the  Marne. 
The  million  men  who  had  been  urged  forward  by 
promises  of  rich  stores  of  food  just  beyond  the 
river,  were  put  to  confusion  at  that  stream  like 
the  host  of  Pharaoh  at  the  Red  Sea,  and  the  victors 

225 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

pursuing  the  defeated  and  demoralized  army,  cap- 
tured men  and  horses  by  the  hundred-thousand, 
together  with  vast  stores  of  ammunition  and  sup- 
plies, and  pressed  on  in  triumph  to  Trieste  and 
Trent.  The  dream  of  Mazzini  and  Garibaldi  was 
realized;  the  flag  of  a  free,  united  people  floated 
over  all  Italy,  redeemed  at  last.  "Your  victory 
has  created  a  new  Italy  in  a  new  Europe,"  de- 
clared the  President  of  France  in  welcoming  King 
Victor  Emmanuel  to  the  gathering  of  the  nations 
at  Paris. 

The  spirit  of  Garibaldi!  ''One  hero  have  I 
known,"  wrote  the  French  historian,  Michelet, 
"Garibaldi,  the  grand  of  soul!  Always  loftier 
than  fortune,  how  sublimely  does  his  memory  rise 
and  swell  towards  the  future!"  It  is,  as  we  have 
seen,  in  the  strength  of  that  spirit  which  dares  all 
in  a  good  cause,  that  Italy  has  fought  her  battles 
of  the  Great  War  and  won  her  splendid  triumph. 


226 


^'THE  BIG  CHIEF" 
GENERAL  PERSHING 


"Lafayette,  we  are  here!" 


*'THE  BIG  CHIEF" 

It  was  one  of  the  wisest  of  men  who  once  said, 
''Knowledge  is  virtue,"  and  while  many  could 
point  out  proofs  of  the  fallacy  of  this  saying,  the 
life  of  General  Pershing  is  a  striking  case  where 
it  has  proved  true. 

"Johnny"  Pershing  longed  for  an  education 
as  most  boys  long  for  adventure.  Dimly  he  felt 
that  it  was  the  way  to  a  freer  life.  Starting  out 
on  that  path  he  would  find  that  all  roads  were 
his.  As  he  hoed  the  corn  on  his  father's  little 
farm  he  dreamed  of  school  days  after  the  haying 
season  should  be  over  and  the  fields  had  yielded 
their  harvest. 

''Well,  I  'm  off  for  school.  Mother,"  he  would 
say  breathlessly,  as  he  finished  his  morning 
chores  and  started  on  a  run  for  the  tiny  frame 
school-house,  which  was  yet  the  one  place  in  the 
little  frontier  to^v^l  of  Laclede,  Missouri,  that 
commanded  a  view  of  the  future  and  the  outside 
world.  It  was  not  only  because  "Old  ^lan  An- 
gell"  might  be  lurking  behind  the  door  with  a 

229 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

switch  to  *' touch  up"  the  legs  of  tardy  boys  that 
he  strove  to  be  there  early.  He  was  sure  that  the 
things  of  the  school-house  could  put  him  on  the 
path  that  wound  out  of  Laclede,  out  of  Missouri, 
into  the  world  of  opportunity. 

Perhaps  this  faith  was  the  more  remarkable 
because  he  was  not  by  any  means  the  ''bright 
boy"  of  the  school.  His  brother  James,  who 
was  two  years  younger  than  he,  was  generally 
considered  the  more  promising  of  the  two. 
Something  of  the  steady  purpose,  however,  that 
led  his  Huguenot  great-great-grandfather  in  1724, 
to  leave  his  home  in  Alsace,  near  the  River  Rhine, 
and  seek  his  fortune  as  a  pioneer  in  the  new 
world  was  in  that  sturdy  little  Johnny  Pershing, 
whose  bright  blue  eyes,  pink  and  white  complex- 
ion, dimples,  and  fair,  curly  hair,  could  not  con- 
ceal the  fact  that  he  was  a  "regular  boy." 
Johnny  knew  that  in  Alsace  his  people  had  been 
called  Pfoerschin,  and  that  after  they  had  settled 
in  Pennsylvania  it  had  been  changed  to  Pershing 
as  more  American.  He  knew  that  his  tall,  broad- 
shouldered  father — American  pluck  every  inch 
of  him — had  been  one  whose  adventurous  spirit 
carried  him  to  the  West  of  golden  opportunity. 
With  only  his  strong  body  and  brain  as  capital, 

230 


*'THE  BIG  CHIEF" 

he  was  working  as  boss  track-layer  on  the  North 
Missouri  Railroad  at  the  time  he  met  and  mar- 
ried Ann  Elizabeth  Thompson,  whose  people 
had  pushed  westward  from  the  Blue  Grass  coun- 
try. Was  it  Kentucky  warmth  and  sweetness 
mingled  with  Western  energy  and  strength  that 
made  her  just  the  best  mother  that  a  boy  ever 
had? 

Even  in  those  days  at  the  village  school  Johnny 
Pershing's  knowledge  meant  character.  "What- 
ever he  did,  he  did  with  all  his  might."  "He 
was  always  dependable,"  said  the  people  who 
knew  the  boy  that  grew  to  be  the  general.  In  the 
panic  of  73,  when  the  little  fortune  that  his  fa- 
ther had  won  by  industry  and  thrift  was  suddenly 
swept  away,  John,  then  a  lad  of  thirteen,  worked 
hard  in  the  fields  to  help  support  the  younger 
children.  So  it  was  that  the  years  passed,  long 
seasons  of  work  in  the  open  that  hardened  his 
tall,  vigorous  body,  and  short  terms  of  school 
that  strengthened  him  in  his  resolve  to  get  an 
education  at  any  cost. 

There  was  a  time  when  he  taught  the  school 
for  negro  boys  in  Laclede ;  they  say  that  the  nick- 
name "Black  Jack"  Pershing,  which  stuck  by 
him  through  his  West  Point  years,  was  a  sou- 

231 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

venir  of  tliat  episode  in  his  career.  Then  for  two 
years  he  taught  the  district  school  at  Prairie 
Mound,  nine  miles  away,  in  order  that  he  might 
attend  the  spring  term  at  the  Kirksville  Normal 
School. 

*'I  am  not  quite  sure  whether  I  'm  headed  for 
teaching  or  the  law  as  a  career,"  he  used  to  say 
at  this  time,  *'but  first  and  last  I  'm  going  to  get 
as  much  education  as  I  can  manage  to  lasso." 

It  seemed  now  as  if  fate  were  putting  him  to 
the  test  before  throwing  open  the  door  of  oppor- 
tunity. The  first  move  came  in  the  guise  of  trou- 
ble ;  the  Laclede  post-office,  which  his  father  kept 
in  connection  with  the  village  store,  was  robbed, 
and  the  postmaster  had  to  make  good  the  loss. 
At  once  young  Pershing  responded  as  waiting 
Destiny  seemed  to  expect ;  he  returned  home  and 
put  in  his  father's  hand  the  money  he  had  saved 
to  pay  his  way  through  the  next  school  term. 

Then  the  happy  chance  came  his  way.  He  read 
in  a  paper  the  announcement  of  a  competitive 
examination  for  admission  to  West  Point. 

**I  have  no  desire  to  enter  the  army,"  he  said 
to  his  sister,  **but  isn't  it  a  real  opportunity  to 
get  more  of  an  education  than  old  Missouri  can 
hold  out?" 

232 


''THE  BIG  CHIEF" 

*'It  certainly  seems  a  chance  that  has  come 
your  way,"  she  replied.  ''Why  not  let  the  result 
of  the  examination  decide  for  you?" 

John  Pershing  carried  off  the  prize  by  one 
point.  "But  it  proved  enough  to  point  the  way," 
he  said.  Despite  this  decision  of  fate,  however, 
it  was  not  at  all  clear  that  he  wanted  to  be  an 
army  officer.  "You  know  it  's  the  education  I  'm 
after,"  he  assured  his  mother,  whose  experi- 
ences during  the  Civil  AVar  in  Missouri,  where 
lawless  raids  and  terrorism  had  at  times  held 
complete  sway,  filled  her  with  hatred  for  even 
the  thought  of  armies  and  a  possible  need  of 
them. 

"Of  course  you  cannot  remember  that  dread- 
ful time,"  she  said.  (Pershing  was  bom  Sep- 
tember 13,  1860.)  "But,  my  son,  every  one  who 
lived  through  it  knows  that  it  cannot  happen 
again.  People  are  wiser  now,  in  America,  at 
least.  They  will  find  some  better  way  of  set- 
tling their  disputes." 

"As  soon  as  I  have  served  long  enough  to  pay 
Uncle  Sam  for  my  education  I  mean  to  go  into 
something  else,"  her  son  declared  with  convic- 
tion. "Some  of  the  other  fellows  at  the  Point 
feel  the  same  way,  too.     We  have  talked  up  a 

233 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

scheme  for  irrigation  of  land  in  Oregon, — one 
of  the  chaps  knows  about  it, — which  needs  only 
that  to  make  it  the  most  wonderful  farm  coun- 
try in  the  world,  and  we  've  planned  to  form 
a  company  and  put  it  through  one  of  these 
days." 

With  his  boyhood  chum,  Charlie  Spurgeon,  he 
wandered  off  into  the  woods,  where  they  threw 
themselves  on  the  ground  and,  looking  up  at  the 
sky  through  the  tree-tops,  talked  over  the  plans 
for  the  future. 

''This  country  is  at  peace  now,  and  it  's  going 
to  stay  at  peace,"  said  young  Pershing.  "There 
won't  be  a  gun  fired  in  the  next  hundred  years. 
The  army  is  no  place  for  me  in  peace  times.  I  'd 
start  as  a  second  lieutenant  and  I  'd  get  to  be  a 
first  lieutenant  only  when  a  man  ahead  of  me 
died.  The  world  is  going  to  be  too  peaceful  in 
the  future  to  make  the  army  look  promising  as  a 
career." 

And  all  the  time.  Fate  standing  by,  listening, 
was  looking  wise  and  mscrutable.  But  any  one 
would  have  been  sure  that  it  was  a  kindly  fate. 
"Was  the  stern  goddess,  relaxed  for  the  moment, 
even  smiling  to  herself  and  saying  with  Puck, 
"What  fools   these   mortals  be, — even  the  best 

234 


**THE  BIG  CHIEF" 

of  them, — not  to  be  able  to  see  and  interpret  their 
manifest  destiny?" 

For  from  the  beginning  of  his  career  at  West 
Point  it  was  evident  to  every  one  that  ''Black 
Jack"  Pershing  of  Missouri  was  a  bom  soldier 
and  leader  of  men.  It  was  clear  to  General  Mer- 
ritt,  superintendent  of  the  academy,  as  he  cast 
his  keen,  appraising  glance  over  the  cadets  under 
his  charge,  and  Pershing  was  given  the  highest 
rank  in  the  battalion  that  it  was  possible  for  him 
to  attain  each  year.  It  was  equally  plain  to  his 
classmates,  who  made  him  their  president  unan- 
imously, no  one  else  even  being  thought  of  in  the 
moment  of  nomination. 

^Ye  may  read  for  ourselves  some  of  Pershing's 
impressions  of  his  cadet  days  in  a  letter  that 
he  wrote  from  his  post  in  the  Philippines  on  the 
occasion  of  the  twenty-fifth  reunion  of  his  class: 

The  proudest  days  of  my  life,  with  one  exception,  have 
come  to  me  in  connection  with  West  Point — days  that  stand 
out  clear  and  distinct  from  all  others.  The  first  of  these  was 
the  day  I  won  my  appointment  at  Trenton,  Missouri,  in  a 
competitive  examination  with  seventeen  competitors.  An  old 
friend  of  the  family  happened  to  be  in  Trenton  that  day  and, 
passing  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street,  called  to  me  and 
said,  "John,  I  hear  you  passed  with  flying  colors."  In  all 
seriousness,  feeling  the  great  importance  of  my  success,  I 
naively  replied  in  a  loud  voice,  "Yes,  I  did,"  feeling  assured 

235 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

that  no  one  had  ever  passed  such  a  fine  examination  as  I 
had.  The  next  red-letter  day  was  when  I  was  elected  presi- 
dent of  the  class  of  '86.  To  realize  that  a  hody  of  men  for 
whom  I  had  such  an  affectionate  regard  should  honor  me  in 
this  way  was  about  all  my  equilibrium  would  stand.  The 
climax  of  days  came  when  the  makes  were  read  out  on  gradu- 
ation day  in  June,  1885.  Little  Eddy  Gayle  smiled  when  I 
reported  five  minutes  later  with  a  pair  of  captain's  chevrons 
pinned  on  my  sleeves.  No  honor  can  ever  come  to  equal  tliat. 
I  look  upon  it  in  the  very  small  light  to-day  as  I  did  then. 
Some  wa}^  these  days  stand  out,  and  the  recollection  of  them 
has  always  been  to  me  a  great  spur  and  stimulus. 

In  those  happy  days  at  the  academy  how 
splendidly  he  showed  that  "Knowledge  is  vir- 
tue!" All  that  he  thought  and  learned  was  im- 
mediately expressed  in  what  he  was  and  what  he 
did.  Never  one  of  the  brilliant  students, — at 
graduation  he  stood  thirtieth  in  the  class  of 
seventy-seven, — he  was  yet  the  leader  of  them 
all. 

"Pershhig  was  absolutely  dependable,"  said 
one  of  his  classmates  in  trying  to  explain  his 
unique  place  in  the  cadet  world;  and  another  of 
his  fellow-students,  now  a  brigadier-general,  ex- 
pressed the  same  thing  in  different  words.  "He 
was  solid,  the  sort  of  chap  you  knew  you  could 
always  count  on. ' ' 

"Black  Jack's  influence  was  the  more  remark- 
able because  he  was  not  one  of  the  leaders  in  the 

236 


*'THE  BIG  CHIEF" 

class-room,"  said  another  ofiScer,  who  had  known 
Pershing  at  the  academy.  "It  is  a  proof  that  it 
is  character  that  counts,  aaid  that  knowing 
doesn't  signify  until  it  gets  over  into  being. 
You  felt  what  he  was  by  the  w^ay  he  held  himself, 
with  a  dignity  that  was  all  power,  never  stiffness 
or  pride.  You  could  tell  by  the  way  he  sat  his 
horse  that  he  would  be  master  of  himself  and  any 
situation  in  w4iich  he  w^as  placed." 

''His  face  was  an  index  to  the  man,"  said  still 
another  member  of  his  class.  "You  could  read 
in  the  determined  jaw,  the  clear-eyed,  direct 
look,  and  the  smile  that  always  seemed  just  back 
of  his  keen  glance,  that  he  would  be  strict,  but 
always  fair — a  truly  human  leader,  never  a  ma- 
chine disciplinarian." 

It  may  have  been  necessary  in  order  to  satisfy 
this  young  man,  who  felt  that  the  army  in  peace 
times  was  no  place  for  one  who  had  ambition  to 
be  up  and  doing,  that  he  should  have  been  singled 
out  for  the  busi'^st  posts  and  the  hardest  tasks 
in  the  service.  With  the  exception  of  four  years 
at  Lincoln,  Nebraska,  where  he  was  instructor  in 
military  science  at  the  university,  and  one  year  as 
assistant  professor  of  tactics  at  West  Point,  ho 
was  always  in  the  field.     Perhaps  watchful  Des- 

237 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

tiny,  noticing  that  be  was  seizing  the  chance  of- 
fered by  bis  residence  at  the  University  of  Ne- 
braska to  realize  his  early  ambition  to  stud}^  law, 
felt  that  even  yet  her  general  might  succeed  in 
giving  her  the  slip  if  she  failed  to  keep  him  busy 
enough. 

The  second  lieutenant,  fresh  from  his  success 
at  West  Point,  was  at  once  put  to  the  test,  and  the 
actual  training  of  the  "Big  Chief"  began  in  the 
Apache  country  of  New  Mexico.  George  Mac- 
Adam  in  his  "Life  of  General  Pershing"  says: 

Physically,  the  country  in  which  Pershing  got  his  first 
schooling  as  a  regular  Amiy  officer  is  identical  with  the  coun- 
try in  which  thirty  years  later  he  led  that  great  man-hunt 
(for  "Villa,  dead  or  alive,") — the  same  baffling  net-work  of 
mountains,  the  same  maze  of  seamed  and  rock-strewn  canons, 
the  same  blistering  stretches  of  alkali  sands,  the  same  broil- 
ing sun  by  day  and  nipping  air  by  night,  the  same  cruel 
scarcity  of  water,  the  same  elusive  trails. 

The  Apache  Indian  is  the  unique  product  of  a 
hard  struggle  with  this  unfriendly  environment. 
Fleet  of  foot,  he  can  run  an  astonishing  distance 
over  the  alkali  wastes  or  through  the  mountain 
trails  without  rest;  thriving  on  hardship,  he  can 
subsist  for  days  on  field  mice  and  the  juice  of  the 
giant  cactus;  skilled  in  nature's  camouflage,  he 
can  completely  hide  himself  through  a  clever  em- 

238 


**THE  BIG  CHIEF'' 

ployment  of  grass,  brush,  and  feathers;  he  was 
indeed  an  enemy  to  be  reckoned  with.  When 
Lieutenant  Pershing  began  his  course  in  the  new 
school  of  experience,  his  fellows  had  just  emerged 
in  triumph  from  the  advanced  problems  pre- 
sented by  the  hunt  for  Geronimo,  the  fierce  Apache 
chief  who  had  been  finally  brought  to  bay  in  Sep- 
tember, 1886,  by  General  Miles 's  relentless  pur- 
suit through  New  Mexico,  Arizona,  and  north- 
ern Mexico  with  different  detachments  and  com- 
mands for  five  months.  And  we  read  in  the  re- 
ports of  General  Miles  that  among  the  men 
trained  to  scouting  and  hard  pursuit  of  marau- 
ders— white  desperadoes  as  well  as  redskins — in 
that  wild,  lawless  country,  the  newly-tried  sec- 
ond lieutenant  had  won  special  mention. 

One  citation  may  serve  to  illustrate  the  way 
in  which  his  sterling  dependability  was  winning 
recognition.  He  had  brought  in  his  troop,  plus 
a  pack  train,  from  a  record  march  of  one  hundred 
and  forty  miles  in  forty-six:  hours,  earning  hon- 
orable mention  from  General  Miles,  who  made 
particular  note  of  the  fact  that  he  had  reported 
"with  every  man  and  animal  in  good  condition." 

The  character  that  found  expression  in  his 
faithfulness  to  every  detail  of  his  charge  was  felt 

239 


FIGHTEKS  FOR  PEACE 

alike  by  the  men  in  the  ranks  and  the  officers  in 
command.  One  of  the  officers,  who  was  Persh- 
ing's senior  by  six  years  of  service  among  the 
Indians,  said  of  him:  ''Of  course  one  didn't 
ordinarily  look  to  the  striplings  fresh  in  the 
field  for  suggestions  and  opinions.  But  there 
was  something  about  Pershing  that  made  him  an 
exception.  One  found  oneself  turning  to  him  in- 
stinctively with  a  "What  do  you  think  about  it, 
Pershing?'  And  when  he  talked,  people  listened 
because  he  had  a  way  of  going  to  the  meat  of  a 
question  in  a  few  words." 

One  day  word  came  of  trouble  on  the  Zuni  Res- 
ervation. Some  cowboys  had  been  caught  by 
the  Indians  driving  off  a  number  of  their  horses, 
and  in  the  struggle  that  ensued  three  of  the  out- 
raged Zunis  had  been  shot.  The  desperadoes 
had  then  taken  refuge  in  a  cabin,  where  they 
were  besieged  by  the  thoroughly  aroused  tribe. 
Colonel  Carr,  then  in  command  of  the  Sixth  Cav- 
alry at  Fort  Wingate,  turned  to  Lieutenant 
Pershing  in  this  emergency. 

"Of  course  they  don't  deserve  help,"  he  said 
grimly.  "But  it  's  a  case  of  putting  out  a  fire 
instead  of  arguing  about  it.'* 

"When  the  young  officer  arrived  with  ten  of  his 
240 


©  Harris  &  Ewing 

GENERAL  JOHN  JOSEPH  PEliSIIINf; 
Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Americun  Expeditionary  Eorcea 


''THE  BIG  CHIEF" 

men  at  the  scene  of  the  trouble,  he  found  a  hun- 
dred and  fifty  of  the  incensed  Zunis  drawn  up 
about  the  cabin,  trying  to  decide  on  the  particular 
form  their  vengeance  should  take.  Pershing 
went  up  at  once  to  the  chief.  His  words  were 
few,  but  eifective,  and  the  Indian,  looking  into  his 
eyes,  read  something  there  that  spoke  without  the 
need  of  an  interpreter. 

**WiIl  you  trust  me  to  bring  out  the  men  and 
take  them  away  for  trial?"  he  asked.  "Will  you 
take  my  word  that  justice  shall  be  done?" 

The  old  chief,  with  his  eyes  still  fixed  pierc- 
ingly on  the  face  of  the  tall,  square-jawed  young 
cavalryman,  grunted  his  assent.  Then  Pershing 
forced  open  the  door  of  the  cabin,  and  faced  the 
outlaws  as  if  he  did  not  even  see  the  rifles  that 
covered  him. 

''You  will  give  up  your  arms  and  come  with 
me  quietly,"  he  said.  "I  will  guarantee  that  the 
Indians  do  not  touch  you."  There  was  a  brief 
flourish  and  bluster  of  profane  threats,  but  some- 
how the  direct  look  of  the  young  officer  put  tlioni 
to  silence  and,  perhaps,  to  shame.  Sullenly  they 
gave  themselves  up,  because  on  second  tliought 
they  could  hardly  defy  their  rescuer.  And  the 
second  lieutenant  who  had  settled  the  unpleas- 

241 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

ant  affair  without  bloodshed  was  ''highly  com- 
mended for  his  discretion." 

During  seven  years,  while  he  was  gaining  ex- 
perience and  winning  golden  opinions,  Pershing 
served  without  any  promotion  in  rank.  In  1893 
he  became  first  lieutenant  of  a  troop  of  negro 
cavalry,  and  the  nickname  ''Black  Jack,"  getting 
by  this  chance  fresh  point,  stuck  to  him  through- 
out his  career.  When  the  war  with  Spain  broke 
out,  he  was  filling  the  position  of  instructor  of 
tactics  at  West  Point,  but  he  immediately  applied 
for  his  old  command  of  the  Tenth  Cavalry,  and 
his  "black  riders"  earned  an  enviable  reputa- 
tion at  San  Juan  and  at  Santiago  de  Cuba.  Gen- 
eral Baldwin,  under  whom  Pershing  served,  said 
of  him,  "I  have  been  in  many  fights  through  the 
Civil  War,  but  Captain  Pershing  is  the  coolest 
man  under  fire  that  I  ever  saw  in  my  life."  He 
was  recommended  for  brevet  commissions  "for 
personal  gallantry,  untiring  energy,  and  faith- 
fulness," in  the  battle  of  El  Cany  winning  his  cap- 
taincy through  distinguished  valor  in  action. 

It  was  thought  that  his  courage,  coupled  with 
the  qualities  of  faithfulness  and  discretion,  made 
Captain  Pershing  ideally  adapted  to  meeting  the 
problems  that  America  had  suddenly  inherited 

242 


^'THE  BIG  CHIEF" 

with  her  island  possessions  in  the  Pacific.  So  he 
was  assigned  to  the  task  of  subduing  the  Moros, 
the  fierce  little  Malay  Mohammedans  whose  Vik- 
ing-like raids  had  long  been  the  terror  of  the  civ- 
ilized inhabitants  of  the  Philippines.  Now  the 
United  States  undertook  to  cope  with  a  situation 
that  the  Spaniards  had  never  succeeded  in  han- 
dling. 

The  last  chapter  of  the  Moro  campaign  was 
exceedingly  dramatic.  A  band  of  Moros,  en- 
trenched in  the  crater  of  an  extinct  volcano  on  the 
Island  of  Jolo,  were  defying  every  attempt  to 
put  an  end  to  their  forays.  The  people  of  the 
surrounding  country  were  always  in  danger  of 
an  eruption  of  these  fire-eating  fanatics,  who  de- 
scended upon  them  without  warning,  breathing 
out  threatenings  and  slaughter,  for  to  them  the 
plundering  of  infidels  was  always  a  ''holy  war." 

''Here  is  a  new  version  of  Mohammed  and  the 
mountain,"  said  Captain  Pershing.  ** Because  it 
does  too  much  coming  to  us  we  must  go  to  it,  and 
after  it.  We  must  put  that  volcano  out  of  busi- 
ness." 

Accordingly  he  set  out  through  the  jungles, 
fighting  ambushed  Moros  every  step  of  the  way, 
until  he  came  with  his  picked  regulars  to  the 

243 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

foot  of  the  mountain.  Here  they  formed  a  cor- 
don and  cleverly  fortified  against  attack  from 
above,  waited  for  the  besieged  Malays  to  come 
out.  Again  and  again  some  daring  ones,  who 
tried  to  rush  through  the  relentless  cordon  to 
the  shelter  of  the  jungle,  ran  to  their  death. 
Then  on  Christmas  day,  1911,  four  hundred  of 
the  fierce,  little  brown  fighters  marched  in  a  tra- 
gic procession  down  the  mountainside  and  sur- 
rendered. 

The  final  and  decisive  triumph  came  in  June, 
1913,  at  the  battle  of  Bagsag,  where  the  fanatics 
were  gathered  for  a  last  stand,  in  the  name  of 
their  prophet,  against  the  Christian  usurpers 
from  far-away  America.  After  that  their  subju- 
gation was  complete,  for  Pershing's  peaceful  vic- 
tories were  as  remarkable  as  his  successes  in  the 
field.  He  learned  the  language  of  the  Moros,  and 
tried  painstakingly  to  get  their  point  of  view. 
His  kindness  and  absolute  fairness  at  last  bore 
fruit,  and  his  work  as  an  administrator  was  a 
signal  success.  The  Sultan  of  Oato  even  offered 
to  bestow  upon  him  his  young  son  as  a  convinc- 
ing token  of  his  regard,  at  the  same  time  confer- 
ring on  him  the  full  rights  of  hereditary  ruler  of 
the  Moros,  with  the  added  authority  of  a  Moham- 

244 


''THE  BIG  CHIEF" 

medan  judge — an  honor  never  before  entrusted 
to  one  of  an  alien  religion. 

As  early  as  1903  his  brilliant  successes  in  the 
Philippine  campaigns  and  his  marked  qualities 
of  leadership  moved  General  Davis  to  write  at 
length  to  Washington,  recommending  that  he  be 
made  brigadier-general,  for  under  the  existing 
regulations  there  was  no  way  of  passing  him 
over  the  heads  of  senior  captains  to  a  colonelcy. 
In  that  same  year  the  distinction  came  to  him  of 
special  mention  in  President  Roosevelt's  annual 
message  to  Congress,  where,  in  asking  that  a  law 
be  passed  making  a  reasonable  promotion  for  dis- 
tinguished ability  possible,  the  President  said; 
''When  a  man  renders  such  service  as  Captain 
Pershing  rendered  last  spring  in  the  Moro  cam- 
paign, it  ought  to  be  possible  to  reward  him  with- 
out at  once  jumping  him  to  the  grade  of  brigadier- 
general." 

For  three  years  President  Eoosevelt  waited  for 
Congress  to  take  this  action,  and  then,  taking  the 
bull  by  the  horns,  he  made  him  a  brigadier-gen- 
eral over  8G2  officers  of  senior  grade,  the  most 
spectacular  jump  ever  recorded  in  the  annals  of 
the  army. 

It  was  openly  said— and  the  bitterness  of  the 
245 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

slander  all  but  poisoned  the  new  general's  happy 
triumph — that  he  had  won  the  promotion  through 
the  influence  of  his  father-in-law,  Senator  War- 
ren of  Wyoming,  who  was  at  that  time  a  member 
of  the  Senate  Committee  on  Military  Affairs. 
But  in  1903  when  President  Roosevelt  made  his 
recommendation  to  Congress,  Pershing  had  not 
even  met  Miss  Frances  Warren,  who  was  des- 
tined to  become  his  wife.  It  is  said,  however, 
that  she  was  sitting  in  the  gallery  when  the  Pres- 
ident's message  was  read,  and  that  she  re- 
marked to  a  companion,  *'I  should  really  like  to 
see  the  captain  who  has  been  able  to  win  such 
a  commendation." 

It  was  not  long  before  Miss  Warren  had  her 
wish.  He  came,  she  saw,  and  he  conquered! 
Most  opportunely,  it  seemed  to  them  then,  he  re- 
ceived the  appointment  of  military  attache  to 
Japan.  Tokio  would  be  an  ideal  place  for  a 
honeymoon;  and  if  hard  work  could  ever  lay 
claim  to  a  holiday,  surely  Captain  Pershing  was 
entitled  to  one  now.  But  hardly  had  they 
reached  the  Land  of  the  Cherry  Blossom  before 
the  bridegroom  was  ordered  to  Manchuria  as 
military  observer  of  the  battles  between  little 
Nippon  and  the  Russian  bear.    And  the  report 

246 


*'THE  BIG  CHIEF" 

he  forwarded  to  the  War  Department,  it  may  be 
mentioned,  was  considered  one  of  the  most  clear- 
cut  and  valuable  documents  of  the  sort  ever  sent 
in  from  the  field. 

The  only  way  that  Pershing  could  clear  him- 
self of  the  imputation  of  having  won  his  pro- 
motion through  favoritism  was  by  seeking  more 
and  harder  tasks.  Back  in  the  Philippines 
again,  he  brought,  as  we  have  seen,  the  Moro 
campaign  to  a  successful  conclusion  in  1913,  and 
served  as  commander  of  the  Department  of  Min- 
danao and  governor  of  the  Moro  Province.  In 
December,  1913,  Major-General  Bell  wrote  in  his 
report  to  Congress:  "I  know  of  nothing  con- 
nected with  the  service  of  General  Pershing  and 
the  army  in  Mindafiao  during  the  past  three  years 
which  merits  anything  but  praise." 

In  the  summer  of  1915  General  Pershing  was 
sent  to  the  Mexican  border.  And  now  it  seemed 
as  if  fate  was  putting  both  the  man  and  the  sol- 
dier to  the  supreme  test.  Was  the  experience  of 
the  years  all  available  in  power  to  meet  the  prob- 
lems of  existence?  Could  he  face  grief  and  de- 
feat unshaken?  In  August,  when  the  com- 
mander went  to  El  Paso,  he  left  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren at  the  Presidio  in  San  Francisco,  while  he  was 

247 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

looking  for  suitable  quarters  for  them  in  Texas. 
Then  in  a  moment  came  the  tragedy.  A  fire, 
which  swept  the  military  post  near  the  Golden 
Gate,  carried  away  Mrs.  Pershmg  and  their 
three  daughters,  all  the  family  except  the  little 
son,  Warren,  whom  the  servants  had  succeeded 
in  rescuing  from  the  flames. 

Would  the  Big  Chief,  as  the  men  affection- 
ately called  the  general,  be  able  to  meet  this  or- 
deal? ''He  met  it  like  a  soldier,"  wrote  a  young 
officer  in  a  letter  home.  *'I  find  myself  thinking 
as  I  see  him  going  about,  unbowed,  unconquer- 
able, of  the  picture  Walt  Whitman  drew  of  a 
soldier-soul,  victorious  in  defeat. 

'Yet  mid  the  ruins  Pride  Colossal  stands  unshaken  to  the  last, 
Endurance,  resolution  to  the  last.' " 

The  soul  of  the  general,  who  naturally  longed 
to  push  his  campaign  through  to  definite  success, 
was  also  sorely  tried  by  the  restraining  orders 
from  Washington.  For  months  he  had  to  remain 
virtually  inactive,  carrying  out  the  policy  of 
** watchful  waiting"  while  keeping  his  powder  dry 
and  his  lines  of  communication  intact.  Perhaps 
the  way  in  which  he  stood  this  test  without  impa- 
tience, complaint,  or  criticism,  showed  his  finely 

248 


''THE  BIG  CHIEF" 

tempered  strength  even  better  than  his  coolness  in 
action.  The  general  waited  for  orders  from  his 
commander-in-chief  with  the  completely  disci- 
plined will  of  the  true  soldier. 

"When  President  Wilson,  from  among  all  the 
American  commanders,  chose  General  Pershing  to 
lead  the  United  States  troops  in  the  World  War, 
he  must  have  weighed  carefully  and  prayerfully  all 
the  qualities  of  the  man.  American  manhood  was 
to  be  tried  as  never  before.  What  a  task  it  was  to 
take  the  untrained  boys  of  our  free,  peaceful,  and 
prosperous  republic  and  make  them  into  a  dis- 
ciplined army  nerved  to  endure  the  hardships  and 
the  horrors  of  the  most  terrible  of  all  wars! 
What  a  responsibility  to  plan  wisely  when  so 
many  precious  lives  were  at  stake! 

The  way  in  which  General  Pershing  took  up 
his  work  of  planning,  providing,  and  organizing, 
and  at  once  found  his  place  as  part  of  the  great 
army  of  freedom  proved  the  measure  of  the  man. 

"I  shall  never  forget,"  said  General  Foch, 
"that  tragic  day  in  March  when,  stirred  by  a  gen- 
erous impulse,  you  came  and  placed  at  my  dis- 
position the  entire  resources  of  your  army.  The 
success  won  in  the  hard  fighting  by  the  American 
troops  is  the  consequence  of  the  excellent  con- 

249 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

ception,  command,  and  organization  of  the  Amer- 
ican general  staff  and  the  will  to  win  of  the  Amer- 
ican soldiers." 

"You  have  come,  God  bless  you!"  said  Mar- 
shal Joffre,  in  welcoming  General  Pershing,  who 
had  just  stepped  from  the  special  train  that 
brought  bim  to  Paris.  A  man,  standing  near, 
said:  **I  never  want  to  see  anything  finer  than 
the  meeting  of  those  two.  Both  hands  of  each 
went  out  to  the  other.  Then  they  stood  a  min- 
ute, face  to  face,  perfect  understanding  without 
the  need  of  words." 

A  French  captain  on  duty  in  America  tried 
to  explain  what  the  coming  of  Persbing's  troops 
to  the  firing-line  bad  meant: 

"Your  general — he  seems  to  us  the  type  of 
your  strong,  straight,  fearless  country,"  he  said. 
"When  we  got  to  know  your  men  we  saw  that 
they  all  had  the  same  spirit.  Can  you  under- 
stand how  we  watched  to  see  how  the  Americans 
would  go  over  the  top — how  they  would  bold  out 
under  fire?  We  could  not  believe  that  such  free, 
happy  boys,  who  had  not  been  trained  to  war, 
could  stand  the  terrible  test  of  battle  as  it  is  to- 
day. The  Germans  had  said,  'The  Americans 
cannot    fight;    they    have    money — that    is    alL 

250 


^'THE  BIG  CHIEF" 

They  can  send  food  and  munitions,  which  we  can 
send  to  the  bottom  on  the  way  over.  Americans 
are  all  for  peace  and  profit;  they  will  never 
fight!'  " 

Then  he  went  on  to  describe  the  way  in  which 
the  United  States  troops  were  placed  for  their 
first  trial  between  seasoned  Tommies  and  poilus, 
who,  it  was  hoped,  would  manage  to  carry  them 
through. 

"I  was  there!''  finished  the  captain,  dramat- 
ically. **For  once  we  were  thinking  of  some- 
thing besides  Fritz  and  his  tricks.  AVe  were 
watching  the  Americans  under  fire  for  the  first 
time.  And  we  found  out  they  could  fight!  Our 
men  did  not  have  to  lead  the  w^ay;  no,  it  was  all 
that  they  could  do  to  hold  the  Sammies  back 
when  the  moment  came  for  a  pause  and  a  new 
start.  They  were  fine,  gallant  lads — so  gay  and 
so  brave!  We  looked  at  each  other,  we  French, 
and  said,  'Well,  America  's  in!'  " 

One  likes  to  picture  the  great  moment  when 
Pershing  stood  before  the  tomb  of  Lafayette. 
Stepping  forward  to  place  a  wTeath  there  he 
spoke  only  these  words,  ''Lafayette,  we  are  here!" 
That  was  all  there  was  to  say  for  his  American 
troops;  for  the  rest  they  would  prove  themselves 

251 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

in  action.  And  how  they  proved  themselves  at 
Chateau-Thierry,  at  Saint  Mihiel,  at  the  Meuse 
and  at  Verdun,  history  must  tell  the  story. 

"An  important  part  of  our  victory,"  said  Gen- 
eral Foch,  "is  due  to  the  action  undertaken  and 
well  carried  through  by  the  American  army  upon 
the  two  banks  of  the  Meuse.  For  the  last  two 
months  the  Americans  have  fought  in  a  most  dif- 
ficult region  a  fierce  and  ceaseless  battle.  The 
complete  triumph  of  this  struggle  is  due  to  the 
fine  qualities  displayed  by  all.  The  name  'Meuse' 
may  be  inscribed  proudly  upon  the  American 
flag." 

When  General  Pershing  spoke  of  his  soldiers 
it  was  not  so  much  their  achievements  as  their 
character  that  moved  him. 

"What  we  have  done  must  speak  for  itself," 
he  said,  "but  when  I  think  of  the  behavior  of  our 
men  fighting  here  in  a  foreign  land ;  of  the  disci- 
plined cheerfulness  with  which  they  have  faced 
discomforts;  of  the  determination  with  which 
they  have  confronted  difiSculties ;  and  of  the  splen- 
did dash  with  which  they  have  met  the  enemy, 
first  in  trench  warfare  and  then  in  open  battle — 
I  cannot  speak  what  is  in  my  mind,  because  my 

252 


*'THE  BIG  CHIEF" 

emotions  of  gratitude   are   so  great  they  keep 
me  from  speaking  of  these  things." 

Like  general,  like  men.  It  is  good  to  think 
that  the  Commander  of  the  American  Expedi- 
tionary Forces  seemed  to  the  Allies  the  perfect 
type  of  the  American  soldier.  It  is  also  good  to 
think  that  it  was  because  the  men  in  the  trenches, 
no  less  than  the  Big  Chief,  proved  themselves  in 
terms  of  character — by  their 

"clear-grained  human  worth 
And  brave  old  wisdom  of  sincerity." 

Thanksgiving  Day,  1918,  was  a  memorable  oc- 
casion with  the  American  Army  in  France. 
From  the  vantage-ground  of  victory  all  looked 
back  in  thankfulness  that  they  liad  passed 
through  the  fiery  trials  of  the  past  months  of  bat- 
tle, and  all  looked  forward  in  confidence  to  a  bet- 
ter order  as  the  result  of  their  devotion  and  sac- 
rifice. It  seemed  as  if  General  Pershing  was  in- 
spired to  voice  in  that  moment  something  of  the 
inarticulate  longing  of  all  hearts. 

One  of  those  present  recalled  the  words  of  a 
Frenchwoman  with  whom  the  general  was  quar- 
tered for  a  short  time  in  one  of  the  little  towns, 

253 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

"He  look  like  ze  statue  carve  out  of  stone,  but 
lie  speak  to  me  like  a  good  neighbor  who  live 
long  next  door." 

He  stood  there  facing  his  troops,  the  ideal  sol- 
dier figure,  lithe,  erect,  indomitable.  His  face 
bore  its  usual  expression  of  serene  strength ;  but  if 
one  could  not  read  his  emotion  there,  all  none  the 
less  surely  felt  it. 

*'May  we  give  thanks  that  unselfish  service  has 
given  us  new  vision,"  he  said  in  conclusion,  "that 
we  are  able  to  return  to  our  firesides  and  our 
country  with  higher  aims  and  a  firmer  purpose. 
.  .  .  Our  nation  awaits  the  return  of  its  sol- 
diers, believing  in  the  stability  of  character  that 
has  come  from  self-discipline  and  self-sacrifice. 
Confident  of  the  new  power  that  the  stern  school 
of  war  and  discipline  has  brought  to  each  of  us, 
American  mothers  await  with  loving  hearts  their 
gallant  sons.  Great  cause  have  we  to  thank  God 
for  trials  successfully  met  and  victories  won. 
Still  more  should  we  thank  Him  for  the  golden 
future  with  its  wealth  of  opportunity  and  its 
hope  of  a  permanent  universal  peace." 


254 


THE  CHIVALRY  OF  THE  SEA 
ADMIRAL  BEATTY 


"Over  the  warring  waters,  beneath  the  wandering  skies, 
The  heart  of  Britain  roameth,  the  Chivalry  of  the  sea, 
Where  Spring  never  bringeth  a  flower,  nor  bird  singeth  in  a 

tree; 
Far,  afar,  0  beloved,  beyond  the  sight  of  our  eyes, 
Over  the  warring  waters,  beneath  the  stormy  skies." 

Robert  Bridges. 


THE  CHIVALRY  OF  THE  SEA 

Have  you  seen  the  something  in  the  eyes  of  a 
man  who  looks  much  upon  the  sea  and  who  loves 
with  all  his  being 

"His   sea   in   no   wonder   the   same — his   sea   and   the   same 
through  each  wonder: 
Hia  sea  as  she  rages  or  stills — " 

that  is  akin  to  the  unf athomed  deep  ?  He  is  per- 
haps only  a  rough,  unlettered  seaman,  but  in  his 
brooding  face  you  feel  the  wisdom  and  patience 
of  one  who  has  known  the  power  of  eternal  things. 
Have  you  felt  the  something  of  mystery,  of 
haunting  charm,  and  of  strength  in  the  soul  of  a 
great  nation  that  loves  the  sea?  England  and 
her  mighty  sea-lover — the  romance  of  it!  Eng- 
land, the  patient  sea-wife,  sending  her  sons 
across  the  waves  to  strike  root  in  new  lands — 
the  home-making  power  of  it!  One  cannot 
rightly  understand  what  great  fleets  and  the 
chivalry  of  the  sea  may  mean  until  he  feels  that 
the  passionate  love  for  the  ocean  that  surrounds 
her  isle  is  the  very  heart  of  England. 

257 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

A  fleet  is  not  built  in  a  day  or  in  a  year  and  a 
day.  The  patience  of  centuries  must  season  and 
temper  it.  They  tell  us  that  Alfred  the  Great 
was  the  founder  of  the  Royal  Navy.  Just  as  he 
saw  that  the  warring  factions  within  the  nation 
needed  the  guiding  hand  of  a  strong  leader,  so 
he  also  realized  that  the  sea  wall  that  separated 
their  country  from  foes  abroad  could  not  be 
trusted  unless  it  was  manned  by  a  fleet  of  guard- 
ian ships  under  the  King's  control.  The  English 
had  always  been  a  sea-faring  people;  adventure 
upon  the  waves  was  their  life.  King  Alfred  but 
chose  and  strengthened  for  the  nation's  defense 
some  of  the  hearts  of  oak  that  had  already  known 
the  sea.  The  navy,  then,  was  a  selected,  per- 
fected part  of  England's  ships,  all  of  which  might 
be  counted  to  rally  at  the  country's  call  in  time  of 
need.  When  Spain  put  forth  all  her  proud 
strength  in  the  Invincible  Armada  to  humble 
England,  the  Royal  Navy  comprised  only  twen- 
ty-eight ships.  The  sole  advantage  that  the 
English  possessed  lay  in  the  skill  and  courage  of 
the  seamen  who  were  used  to  riding  upon  stormy 
seas  and  braving  the  wrath  of  winds  and  waves. 
All  the  towns  of  the  realm  who  were  called  upon 

258 


THE  CHIVALRY  OF  THE  SEA 

to  provide  ships  to  reinforce  the  navy  came  loy- 
ally to  the  defense  of  their  land.  London  town 
when  asked  for  fifteen  sails  sent  double  that  num- 
ber; and  the  nobles  provided  in  addition  some 
forty-three  ships  at  their  own  expense.  Indeed 
it  seemed  that,  from  Lord  Howard,  admiral  of 
the  navy,  to  the  humblest  fisherman  along  shore, 
all  England  was  putting  forth  her  strength  on  the 
sea  she  knew  and  trusted. 

We  know  how  the  daring  of  Sir  Francis  Drake 
and  his  gallant  rovers,  aided  by  tempest  and 
storm-lashed  waves,  defeated  the  mighty  Ar- 
mada. Surely  England's  sea  and  England's 
sons  might  be  counted  on  always  to  rise  up  to- 
gether against  all  threatening  foes.  Devonshire 
men,  especially,  cherished  the  memory  of  Drake 
and  his  drum,  which,  when  dying  in  a  distant  land, 
he  sent  to  be  hung  on  the  sea  wall  at  home.  And 
they  say  that  in  time  of  danger  a  staunch  British 
hand  needs  but  to  strike  that  drum  to  call  the 
spirit  of  Drake  and  the  souls  of  all  true  men  that 
have  ever  loved  and  fought  for  England  to  her 
rescue.  It  was  Drake's  spirit  that  guided  Nel- 
son, they  said,  to  his  victory  at  Trafalgar;  and 
Drake's  spirit  was  still  alive  in  the  Admiral  of 

259 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

the  Grand  Fleet  that  held  the  gates  of  the  North 
Sea  against  the  dreadnoughts  and  destroyers  of 
Germany. 

Do  you  know  the  chantey  of  the  Devonshire- 
men?  It  rings  with  the  spirit  of  daring,  sea-far- 
ing hearts  of  oak  that  know  but  one  service,  that 
of  the  sea-swept  isle,  and  but  one  standard,  **  Eng- 
land expects  every  man  to  do  his  duty." 

"Drake  he  's  in  his  hammock  till  the  great  Armadas  come, 
(Capten,  art  tha  sleepin'  there  below?) 
Slung  atween  the  round  shot,  listenin'  for  the  drum, 

An'  dreamin'  arl  the  time  o'  PhTnouth  Hoe. 
Call  him  on  the  deep  sea,  call  him  up  the  Sound, 

Call  him  when  ye  sail  to  meet  the  foe; 
Where  the  old  trade  's  plyin'  an'  the  old  flag  fl^'in', 

They  shall  find  him  ware  an'  wakin',  as  they  found  him 
long  ago!" 

Let  us  see  how  the  unconquerable  spirit  of  the 
past  that  ''starts  from  every  wave"  has  wrought 
and  fought  for  England  on  the  seas  in  the  Great 
War.  First  of  all  there  was  the  Grand  Fleet, 
England's  mightiest  and  swiftest  men-of-war 
with  their  attendant  cruisers,  destroyers,  and 
submarines.  This  was  gathered  in  the  North 
Sea  to  challenge  the  German  Over  Seas  Fleet  at 
the  moment  it  made  the  attempt  to  leave  its  for- 
tified, land-locked  harbors.     How  well  it  did  its 

260 


THE  CHIVALRY  OF  THE  SEA 

work  is  shown  by  the  successful  ''containmg"  of 
the  super-dreadnoughts  and  destroyers  of  the 
second  navy  in  the  world  during  the  entire  period 
of  the  war,  so  that  at  the  end  they  were  obliged 
to  give  themselves  up,  untried,  unscarred,  un- 
honored — idle,  impotent  giants. 

*'If  they  were  Yankee  ships  you  had  been  try- 
ing to  bottle  up,  I  dare  swear  that  some  of  our 
raiders  would  have  slipped  by,"  boasted  an  Am- 
erican ensign.  "You  can't  tell  me  that  you  could 
have  kept  the  three  hundred  miles  of  dark,  fog- 
wrapt,  or  stormy  sea  between  Scotland  and  Nor- 
way every  night  for  three  and  a  half  years  so  that 
we  wouldn't  have  been  able  to  have  things  our 
way  now  and  again." 

The  British  bluejacket  grinned  with  friendly 
tolerance.  *'We  keep  on  the  job,  sir,"  he  said 
with  modest  brevity. 

The  American  looked  at  the  lean,  weathered 
face  of  the  old  sea-dog  with  keen,  admiring  ap- 
preciation. "I  guess  you  've  been  in  a  pretty 
good  school,"  he  said,  as  he  recalled  how  an  officer 
on  one  of  the  destroyers  of  the  Grand  Fleet  had 
described  the  hardships  of  cruising  at  top  speed 
through  the  short,  choppy  waves  of  the  North 
Sea: 

2G1 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

''We  never  steam  less  than  twenty  knots,"  he 
had  said,  ''and  you  can  picture  what  that  means 
when  there  is  even  a  small  sea  running.  Choked 
with  oil-fuel  smoke,  slashed  with  icy  spray,  soaked 
to  the  skin,  freezing,  and  utterly  miserable,  the 
spirit  of  our  men  is  simply  beyond  all  praise." 

In  the  long  winter  nights  when  the  haze  veiled 
friends  and  foes  alike  in  a  wet  grayness,  dark 
patches  moving  through  the  mist  were  challenged 
by  every  sense  and  every  instinct  at  highest  pitch 
of  alertness.  This  is  the  way  an  engagement 
with  some  German  light  cruisers  who  attempted 
to  "cut  some  capers"  in  the  North  Sea  was  de- 
scribed by  an  eye-witness:  "When  the  range 
reached  the  2,000  yards  mark  the  forward  six- 
inch  gun  of  the  British  cruiser  spoke,  a  short, 
sharp  crack  that  hurt  the  ears,  followed  by  the 
duller  boom  of  the  bursting  of  shell.  It  was  the 
fitting  beginning  for  the  inferno  of  noise  that  im- 
mediately followed.  It  was  a  fight  in  the  dark, 
where  no  man  could  see  how  his  brother  fared 
and  when  it  was  only  just  possible  to  make  out 
the  opposing  gray  shadow,  and  hammer,  hammer, 
hammer  at  it  till  the  eyes  ached  and  smarted,  and 
the  breath  whistled  through  lips  parched  with 
the  acrid,  stifling  fumes  of  picric  acid." 

262 


THE  CHIVALRY  OF  THE  SEA 

The  raids  attempted  early  in  the  war  on  the 
north-east  coast  of  England  by  some  detached  and 
too-daring  swift  cruisers  were  so  severely  pun- 
ished that  before  long  all  Germany's  fierce  sea- 
dogs  of  war  were  "contained"  in  their  harbor- 
kennels.  Two  such  sallies  made  by  fleet,  furtive 
cruisers,  which  scattered  mines,  and  fired  at  long 
range  through  screening  fog  upon  unprotected 
coast  towns,  without  any  excuse  of  military  ad- 
vantage, slaughtering  women  and  children  and 
wrecking  houses  and  churches  before  they  scut- 
tled ignominiously  back  to  the  shelter  of  their 
port,  were  considered  triumphs  of  **f rightful- 
ness'^; but  the  third  proved  so  costly  that  only 
minor  excursions  of  smaller  craft  were  after- 
wards attempted.  When  Admiral  Beatty's  pa- 
trolling fleet  sighted  on  January  24,  1915,  a 
squadron  of  cruisers  and  destroyers  about  thirty 
miles  from  the  English  coast,  there  was  such 
swift  pursuit  and  punishment  as  left  little  doubt 
that  Britannia  still  ruled  the  waves. 

*'0n  land  we  can  beat  you,  but  here,  no,"  said 
one  of  the  miserable  survivors  of  the  Blucher,  a 
15,000-ton  ship  that  did  not  succeed  in  getting 
her  wounded  hulk  to  the  shelter  of  the  shore  guns, 
as  did  some  of  the  more  fortunate  raiders.     The 

263 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

following  extract  from  the  account  of  one  of  the 
German  ofiScers  rescued  from  the  Bliicher  gives 
a  lurid  picture  of  warfare  at  sea  under  modem 
conditions : 

The  shells  came  thick  and  fast,  with  a  horrible  droning 
hum.  At  once  they  did  terrible  execution.  The  electric  plant 
was  soon  destroyed,  and  the  ship  plunged  in  a  darkness  that 
could  be  felt.  "You  could  not  see  your  hand  before  your 
nose,"  said  one.  Down  below  decks  there  was  horror  and  con- 
fusion, mingled  with  gasping  shouts  and  moans,  as  the  shells 
plunged  through  the  decks.  It  was  only  later,  when  the  range 
shortened,  that  they  tore  holes  in  the  ship's  sides  and  raked 
her  decks.  At  first  they  came  dropping  from  the  skies.  They 
penetrated  the  decks.  They  bored  their  way  even  to  the 
stokehold.  The  coal  in  the  bunkers  was  set  on  fire.  Since 
the  bunkers  were  half  empty,  the  fire  burned  merrily.  In  the 
engine-room  a  shell  licked  up  the  oil  and  sprayed  it  around  in 
flames  of  blue  and  green,  scarring  its  victims  and  blazing 
where  it  fell.  Men  huddled  together  in  dark  compartments, 
but  the  shells  sought  them  out,  and  there  death  had  a  rich 
harvest. 

The  terrific  air-pressure  resulting  from  explosion  in  a  con- 
fined space,  left  a  deep  impression  on  the  minds  of  the  men. 
The  air,  it  would  seem,  roars  through  every  opening  and 
tears  its  way  through  every  weak  spot.  All  loose  and  inse- 
cure fittings  are  transformed  into  moving  instruments  of  de- 
struction. Open  doors  bang  to  and  jamb,  and  closed  iron  doors 
bend  outward  like  tinplates,  and  through  it  all  the  bodies  of 
men  are  whirled  about  like  dead  leaves  in  a  winter  blast.  .  .  . 
If  it  was  appalling  below  deck,  it  was  more  appalling  above. 
"It  was  one  continuous  explosion,"  said  a  gunner.  The  ship 
heeled  over  as  the  broadsides  struck  her,  then  righted  herself, 
rocking   like   a   cradle.     Gun   crews   were   so   destroyed   that 

264 


THE  CHIVALRY  OF  THE  SEA 

stokers  had  to  be  requisitioned  to  carry  ammunition.  Men 
lay  flat  for  safety.  The  decks  presented  a  tangled  mass  of 
scrap  iron. 

For  the  entire  period  of  the  war  the  vaunted 
High  Seas  Fleet  remained  paralyzed  in  canals 
and  harbors.  Only  once  did  it  venture  out  for  a 
trial  of  strength.  On  the  afternoon  of  May  31, 
1916,  a  large  body  of  German  war-cruisers  and 
destroyers  appeared  beyond  the  shore  defenses, 
to  offer  battle  in  open  sea  to  Admiral  Beatty's 
squadron  of  cruisers,  hoping  to  lure  it  away  from 
the  rest  of  the  Grand  Fleet,  perhaps  to  its  de- 
struction in  the  mine-strewn  waters  within  range 
of  the  mighty  guns  from  the  shore.  First,  the 
Germans  sent  out  their  battle-cruisers  and  a  num- 
ber of  submarines,  by  whose  activities  they  hoped 
to  so  confuse  and  perplex  the  advance  guard  of 
the  Grand  Fleet  that  even  if  it  did  not  venture 
within  the  fatal  area  of  mines,  the  whole  German 
fleet  would  have  chance  to  appear  in  force  and 
annihilate  it  before  rescue  could  come  from  the 
battle-ships  under  Jellicoe. 

A  strange,  unearthly  conflict  it  was,  between 
vessels  lurking  in  haze  and  smoke-screens  at  ex- 
treme range  to  escape  torpedoes  and,  while  run- 
ning at  top  speed,  striking  out  at  each  other  in 

265 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

darkness  or  in  sudden  flashes  of  light  through 
the  smoke-charged  mist.  Destroyers  dashed 
back  and  forth,  now  charging,  now  withdrawing. 
Now  and  then  lurid  flares  of  licking  flames  out- 
lined for  a  few  minutes  the  looming  form  of  one 
of  the  ghostly  combatants  mast  high,  before  the 
mist  once  more  swallowed  it  up. 

"I  never  expect  to  know  a  more  thrilling  mo- 
ment," said  one  of  the  officers  of  the  Grand 
Fleet,  "than  that  when  our  far-flung  battle-line 
took  shape — miles  of  it  shrouded  in  mist — as  our 
ships  found  themselves  with  drill-like  precision, 
and  began  belching  out  sheets  of  flame  and  clouds 
of  smoke." 

So  it  was  that  the  Battle  of  Jutland  proceeded, 
and  but  for  adverse  weather  conditions  that 
brought  shrouding  darkness  early  that  May  eve- 
ning. Admiral  Jellicoe  might  have  succeeded  in 
annihilating  the  German  fleet. 

As  it  was,  proceeding  with  the  greatest  care, 
since  it  was  difficult  to  distinguish  between 
his  own  ships  and  those  of  the  enemy,  he  saw 
the  prize  melt  away  in  the  heavy  North  Sea 
haze  and  veiling  smoke-screens.  Then  under 
the  pall  of  darkness  the  shattered  and  crip- 
pled German  vessels  picked  their  way  through 

266 


THE  CHIVALRY  OF  THE  SEA 

their  mine  jQelds  to  the  haven  of  their  guarded 
ports. 

*'If  only  we  had  not  been  so  unlucky  in  the 
weather!"  said  one  of  the  British  officers,  rue- 
fully. '*But  in  that  case  perhaps  there  would 
have  been  no  Battle  of  Jutland,  because  it  's  a 
safe  guess  that  the  Huns  would  never  have  put 
out." 

At  first  the  Germans  loudly  proclaimed  a  tri- 
umph over  the  Grand  Fleet ;  but  afterwards,  when 
they  could  show  no  fruits  of  victory  in  freedom 
from  the  blockade,  when  month  after  month  their 
ships  remained  sealed  up  in  their  harbors,  the 
self-evident  facts  silenced  their  boasts.  As  one 
neutral  newspaper  put  it:  ''It  would  seem  that 
the  Germans  might  think  it  rather  absurd  to  hail 
their  Kaiser  as  ''Admiral  of  the  Atlantic"  before 
he  has  a  single  ship  afloat  there.  The  German 
Navy  is  undoubtedly  still  a  navy  in  jail.  It  may 
assault  its  keeper  now  and  then  with  great  fury, 
but  it  remains  in  jail,  nevertheless." 

After  tljc  Battle  of  Jutland  the  admiral  of  the 
fleet  was  made  First  Sea  Lord  of  the  Admiralty. 
This  put  him  in  control  of  the  policy  and  the 
strateg>'  of  all  the  British  naval  operations  ev- 
erywhere.    Some  one  has  said  of  Sir  John  Jel- 

267 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

licoe  that  he  has  the  "candor  of  the  sea,"  the 
large  freedom  of  men  who  are  used  to  wide 
spaces,  and  days  and  nights  alone  on  the  restless 
waters  under  the  eternal  sky. 

''He  has  the  spirit  of  Sir  Francis  Drake!" 
whispered  the  seamen. 

"Not  so,"  said  a  young  officer,  who  knew  the 
tales  of  Devonshire  and  a  few  of  the  fancies  of 
the  poets,  "Drake's  man  is  the  other,  the  younger 
one,  with  the  flashing  eyes  and  'the  soul  like  a 
North  Sea  storm'." 

That  was  Sir  David  Beatty,  who  had  com- 
manded the  cruiser  squadron  at  the  Battle  of  Jut- 
land, and  who  succeeded  Jellicoe  as  Admiral. 
After  that  engagement  he  wrote  in  a  letter,  "We 
will  be  ready  for  them  next  time.  Please  God  it 
will  come  soon."  At  the  same  time  the  com- 
mander-in-chief was  writing  of  him,  "Sir  David 
Beatty  showed  all  his  fine  qualities  of  gallant 
leadership,  firm  determination,  and  correct  strat- 
egical insight." 

"Yes,"  said  an  American  officer,  "I  was  one 
of  those  who  had  the  privilege  of  serving  during 
the  last  year  of  the  war  under  Admiral  Beatty, 
and  one  may  well  say  in  the  fashion  of  your  poet, 

268 


THE  CHIVALRY  OF  THE  SEA 

Noyes,  that  he  had  the  power  and  sweep  *of  a 
North  Sea  storm,'  but  he  also  had  at  the  same 
time  the  large  wisdom  of  a  Foch  in  his  grasp  of 
all  of  the  many  moves  in  the  complex  game  ho 
played,  and  in  his  masterly  strategy." 

But  the  ships  of  the  Grand  Fleet  were  the  aris- 
tocrats, the  powerful  chieftains  of  England's 
mariner  hosts.  What  of  the  humble  cargo  boats, 
the  trawlers,  the  rank  and  file  of  those  from  yacht 
to  fishing-smack  who  held  the  net  of  the  blockade 
from  Ireland  to  the  Mediterranean?  For,  as  in 
the  days  of  Elizabeth  and  the  Armada,  when  the 
Royal  Navy  was  supplemented  by  the  boats  of 
the  people,  so  now  all  the  men  and  all  the  ships 
of  this  great  seafaring  nation  had  rallied  to  the 
service  of  their  country.  How  the  lines  of  Kip- 
ling made  one  feel  the  pathos  and  the  glory  of 
these  storm-tossed  tramp  boats ! 

"In  Lowestoft  a  boat  was  laid, 
Mark  well  what  I  do  say! 
And  she  was  built  for  the  iierring  trade, 
But  she  has  gone  a-rovin*,  a-rovin,'  a-rovin', 
The  Lord  knows  where! 

They  gave  her  Government  coal  to  bum, 
And  a  Q.  F.  gun  at  bow  and  stem, 
And  sent  her  out  a-rovin',  etc. 

269 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

Her  skipper  was  mate  of  a  bucko  ship, 
Which  always  killed  one  man  per  trip, 
So  he  is  used  to  rovin',  etc. 


Her  cook  was  chef  of  the  Lost  Dogs'  Home, 

Mark  well  what  I  do  say! 
And  1  'm  sorry  for  Fritz  when  they  all  come 

A-rovin',  a-rovin',  a-roann'  and  a-rovin', 

Round  the  North  Sea  rovin', 

The  Lord  knows  where  I" 

It  was  a  game  with  grim  rules  and  lonely  vig- 
ils, the  keeping  of  the  blockade.  For  a  month  or 
more  at  a  time  each  boat  held  its  watch,  weaving 
in  and  out  through  fog  and  gale,  not  knowing  at 
what  moment  a  mine  or  the  torpedo  of  a  subma- 
rine might  put  a  sudden  end  to  its  service. 

''Out  at  sea  and  working  on  deck  for  at  least 
twenty  hours,"  said  a  fisherman,  "wet  through 
to  the  skin,  then  below  for  two  hours'  sleep. 
Then  come  on  deck  for  another  twenty  hours,  and 
keep  on  doing  that  for  a  month,  Blow  high,  blow 
low,  rain,  hail,  or  snow,  mines  or  submarines,  we 
have  to  go  through  it." 

''We  have  just  crawled  into  port  again,"  wrote 
a  skipper;  "what  weather  it  has  been — nothing 
but  gales,  rain,  and  snow,  with  rough  seas.  The 
strictest  look-out  must  be  kept  at  all  times,  as, 

270 


THE  CHIVALRY  OF  THE  SEA 

with  the  rough  seas  that  are  going  now,  a  subma- 
rine's periscope  takes  a  bit  of  spotting,  likewise 
a  floating  mine.  The  watchers  hang  on  to  the 
rigging  in  blinding  rain,  with  seas  drenching  over 
them  for  four  hours  at  a  time,  peering  into  the 
darkness." 

And  as  for  the  trawlers:  "See  that  wire 
rope?"  said  Kipling's  ''common  sweeper." 
"Well,  it  leads  through  that  lead  to  the  ship 
which  you  're  sweepin'  with.  She  makes  her  end 
fast  and  you  make  yourn.  Then  you  sweep  to- 
gether at  whichever  depth  you  've  agreed  upon 
between  you  by  means  of  that  arrangement  there 
which  regulates  the  depth.  They  give  you  a  glass 
sort  o'  thing  for  keepin'  your  distance  from  the 
other  ship,  but  that  's  not  wanted  if  you  know 
each  other.  Well,  then,  you  sweep,  as  the  sayin' 
is.  There  's  nothin'  in  it.  You  sweep  till  this 
wire  rope  fouls  the  bloomin'  mines.  Then  you 
go  on  till  they  appear  at  the  surface,  so  to  say, 
and  then  you  explodes  them  by  means  of  shootin' 
at  'em  with  that  rifle  in  the  galley  there.  There  's 
nothin'  in  sweepin'  more  than  that." 

"And  if  you  hit  a  mine?"  he  was  asked. 

"You  go  up — but  you  hadn't  ought  to  hit  'em, 
if  you  're  careful.     The  thing  is  to  get  hold  of 

271 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

the  first  mine  all  right,  and  then  you  go  on  to  the 
next,  and  so  on,  in  a  way  o'  speakin." 

''And  you  can  fish,  too,  'tween  times,"  put  in 
a  voice  from  the  next  boat.  Mr.  Kipling's  de- 
scription in  "The  Fringes  of  the  Fleet"  makes 
one  feel  that  all  the  Mark  Tapleys  of  the  United 
Kingdom  had  taken  to  trawling.  But  after  read- 
ing about  the  men  on  patrol  duty  manning  the  de- 
stroyers that  will  ''neither  rise  up  and  fly  clear 
like  the  hydroplanes,  nor  dive  and  be  done  with 
it  like  the  submarines,  but  imitate  the  vices  of 
both,"  you  think  there  is  even  some  surplus  op- 
timism on  duty  there: 

"Where  the  East  wind  is  brewed  fresh  and  fresh  every  morn- 
ing, 
And  the  balmy  night-breezes  blow  straight  from  the  Pole, 
I  heard  a  destroyer  sing:  "What  an  enjoyable  life  does  one 
lead  on  the  North  Sea  Patrol! 

We  warn  from  disaster  the  mercantile  master 
Who  takes  in  high  dudgeon  our  life-saving  role, 
For  every  one's  grousing  at  docking  and  dowsing 
The  marks  and  the  lights  on  the  North  Sea  Patrol." 

What  epic  adventures  filled  the  days  and  nights 
of  the  mariners  of  England,  whose  task  it  w^as  to 
bridge  the  seas  for  the  ships  carrying  coal  and 
iron  to  France  and  Italy,  food  and  munitions  to 

272 


©  t-'ndcrwor.fi  <t  tr,fi..Two„d 

ADMIRAL  SIH   DAVH)   IfKATTY 
Coiij/nander  of  the  Craiul  I''li;i;t  of  the  liriliMh  Xuvy 


THE  CHIVALRY  OF  THE  SEA 

all  of  the  Allies,  troops  from  Canada,  India,  Aus- 
tralia, and  America  to  the  battle-line  in  France, 
besides  armies  and  supplies  to  other  scenes  of  ac- 
tion, GallipolL,  Greece,  Suez,  Palestine,  Mesopo- 
tamia. Had  it  not  been  for  the  mastery  of  the 
seas,  the  Germans  must  have  become  masters  of 
the  world. 

•'May  not  the  great  might  of  England's  navy 
become  a  menace  to  the  freedom  of  other  nations 
and  the  peace  of  the  world?"  it  is  sometimes 
asked.  "May  not  the  navalism  of  Great  Britain 
prove  as  much  a  threat  as  the  militarism  of  Ger- 
many?" 

Let  the  facts  of  the  case  make  reply.  As  the 
people  of  England  are  what  they  are  by  virtue  of 
their  intimate  association  with  the  sea,  so  the 
government  of  Great  Britain,  the  most  complete 
democracy  in  the  world,  may  be  said  to  be  the 
outgrowth  of  her  sea-power.  The  sea  breathes 
the  spirit  of  freedom;  seapower  makes  for  de- 
fense and  independence,  not  aggression.  Only 
when  it  might  be  used  as  an  adjunct  to  a  powerful 
army  could  it  become  a  threat  to  the  liberty  of 
other  peoples. 

America  certainly  owes  mucli  to  the  seapower 
of  Britain.     Admiral  Mahan,  in  an  article  which 

273 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

appeared  in  the  "Scientific  American,"  stated  the 
matter  very  clearly: 

"Why  do  English  innate  political  conceptions 
of  popular  representative  government,  of  the  bal- 
ance of  law  and  liberty,  prevail  in  North  America 
from  the  Arctic  Circle  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  from 
the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific?  Because  the  com- 
mand of  the  sea  at  the  decisive  era  belonged  to 
Great  Britain." 

Turning  now  to  the  testimony  of  the  Norwe- 
gian, Nils  Sten,  we  read : 

"I  have  traveled  by  German  steamers  nearly 
all  over  the  world,  but  never  heard  (until  August, 
1914)  a  German  officer  complain  of  England's 
naval  supremacy  .  .  .  For  the  last  100  years  Nor- 
way has  been  England's  greatest  competitor  on 
the  sea.  When  has  Norway  had  reason  to  com- 
plain of  England's  jealousy  or  English  supremacy? 
In  all  the  harbors  of  the  world  the  Norwegian  and 
the  English  flag  have  been  hoisted  side  by  side.  .  . 
Hundreds  of  thousands  of  times  Norwegian  boats 
have  been  lying  within  range  of  English  guns. 
Have  they  felt  this  as  danger?  No,  on  the  con- 
trary, they  have  felt  it  as  a  guarantee  for  just 
and  noble  treatment!" 

If  one  wants  to  read  something  of  the  practical 
274 


THE  CHIVALRY  OF  THE  SEA 

chivalry  of  the  sea  during  the  Great  War,  he  has 
but  to  go  to  records  such  as  those  quoted  by  Pro- 
fessor Dixon  in  his  delightfully  clear  and  vivid 
little  book,  ''The  British  Navy  at  War."  "A 
single  lieutenant  of  the  Naval  Reserve,"  he  says, 
**  besides  attending  to  other  matters,  destroyed 
forty  or  fifty  mines,  twice  drove  off  an  inquisitive 
German  Taube,  attacked  an  equally  inquisitive 
Zeppelin,  twice  rescued  a  British  sea-plane,  and 
towed  it  into  safety,  rescued  in  June  the  crew  of 
a  torpedoed  trawler,  sixteen  men,  also  the  crew 
of  a  sunk  fishing-vessel;  in  July  assisted  two 
steamers  that  had  been  mined,  saving  twenty-four 
of  the  sailors,  in  September  assisted  another 
steamer,  rescued  three  men  from  a  mined  trawler, 
towed  a  disabled  Dutch  steamer,  and  assisted  in 
rescuing  the  passengers;  in  November  assisted  a 
Norwegian  steamer,  rescued  twenty-four  men, 
and  also  a  Greek  steamer,  which  had  been  torpe- 
doed, and  rescued  forty." 

The  love  of  fair  play,  which  is  an  instinct  with 
all  true  men  of  the  sea,  made  the  submarine  par- 
ticularly detested.  "All  the  crew  swallowed 
up  in  a  minute,"  said  a  skipper  in  telling  of  the 
time  when  a  torpedo  hit  one  of  his  follow-fisliing- 
smacks.     "They  don't  give  you  a  chance  to  strike 

275 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PExVCE 

out  for  your  life  or  to  know  even  that  you  've 
been  done  for  in  a  fair  fight." 

Therefore  the  decoy  work  of  the  "Q"  boats,  as 
they  were  called,  was  pursued  with  enthusiasm 
despite,  perhaps  because  of,  its  great  risks.  The 
story  of  His  Majesty's  ship  Par  gust,  which,  dis- 
guised as  a  merchant  vessel,  succeeded  in  luring 
to  its  destruction  an  enemy  submarine  on  June 
7,  1917,  may  serve  to  illustrate  the  manner  in 
which  the  ** play-acting"  crews  of  the  "Q"  boats 
worked.  After  the  ship  had  been  attacked  by  the 
submarine,  a  portion  of  the  men,  playing  the  role 
of  ''panic  party"  or  sole  survivors,  put  forth  in 
a  life-boat  and,  acting  in  this  way  as  lure,  led  the 
submarine  within  fifty  yards  of  the  ship,  which 
then  unmasked  and  opened  fire.  The  submarine, 
with  oil  pouring  from  her  side  and  the  crew 
pouring  from  the  conning-tower,  seemed  in  a 
desperate  case.  At  first  the  crew  held  up  their 
hands  in  surrender,  but  when  the  fire  from  the 
Pargust  ceased,  they  apparently  rallied  and 
made  an  attempt  to  escape  under  cover  of  the 
heavy  mist.  Fire  was  reopened  then  until  she 
sank,  only  one  officer  and  one  man  of  the  crew 
being  rescued.  American  destroyers  and  a  Brit- 
ish sloop  appeared  on  the  scene  shortly  after- 

276 


THE  CHIVALRY  OF  THE  SEA 

ward,  and  the  decoy  ship  was  towed  in  triumph 
to  port.  "As  on  previous  occasions,"  it  was 
stated,  "officers  and  men  displayed  the  utmost 
courage  and  confidence  in  their  captain,  and  the 
action  serves  as  an  example  of  what  perfect  dis- 
cipline, when  coupled  with  such  confidence,  can 
achieve."  One  officer  and  one  man  from  among 
them  was  selected  by  ballot  for  the  award  of  the 
Victoria  Cross. 

But  perhaps  of  all  the  gallant  attempts  to  wrest 
the  weapon  of  the  submarine  from  the  ruthless 
hand  of  the  enemy  the  raid  on  Zeebrugge  was  the 
most  daring.  Ever  since  this  Belgian  port  had 
been  captured  by  the  Germans  in  the  autumn  of 
1914  it  had  been  used  as  a  base  for  submarines, 
destroyers,  and  aircraft.  It  was  so  situated  that 
swift  instruments  of  death  could  be  thrust  from 
their  sheltered  harborage  and  back  again  before 
the  watchers  of  the  sea  had  time  to  deal  with 

them. 

"If  we  could  only  destroy  that  scorpions* 
nest!"  it  was  said.  But  how  was  it  to  be  accom- 
plished? The  port  was  provided  with  heavy 
guns  past  all  possibility  of  attack;  no  ships  could 
approach  under  their  raking  fire.  Moreover,  it 
had  the  added  defense  of  a  crescent-shaped  mole 

277 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

thirty  feet  high,  which  held  the  entire  harbor 
within  its  fortified  curve. 

Yet  there  are  no  bounds  to  what  men  of  the 
sea  will  dare  in  a  great  cause.  "There  is  a  way 
to  destroy  that  harbor  if  we  can  block  the  chan- 
nel by  sinking  some  ships  in  just  the  right  posi- 
tion," some  one  suggested.  Plans  were  pre- 
sented and  discussed. 

**It  is  possible,"  declared  the  commander. 
**The  risk  is  great,  but  the  object  to  be  attained 
is  greater.  Given  a  dark  night,  with  the  sea  and 
the  wind  favoring  us,  a  storming  party  may  reach 
the  mole  in  a  smoke  screen  without  being  ob- 
served. Then,  effecting  a  landing,  they  may  suc- 
ceed in  so  engaging  the  attention  of  the  enemy 
that  block  ships — three  old  cruisers  filled  with 
concrete — may  be  taken  to  the  harbor  and  sunk 
there  so  as  to  completely  fill  the  channel. ' ' 

It  was,  as  the  German  papers  said  in  comment- 
ing on  it  afterward,  a  ''fantastically  audacious" 
scheme.  But  the  chivalry  of  the  sea  does  not 
count  the  cost  when  the  call  comes. 

On  the  night  of  April  22,  1918,  all  conditions 
seemed  as  favorable  as  possible.  Four  anti- 
quated British  cruisers  were  chosen  for  the  glo- 
rious attempt.    Three  of  them  were  filled  with  con- 

278 


THE  CHIVALRY  OF  THE  SEA 

Crete,  and  one,  the  Vindictive,  working  with  two 
ferr>^-boats.  Daffodil  and  7m,  was  to  land  the 
storming  party  on  the  mole  to  surprise  the  enemy, 
and,  if  possible,  destroy  the  guns,  submarine  de- 
pots, and  sea-plane  bases  there  while  diverting  at- 
tention from  the  main  effort,  the  sinking  of  the 
block  ships.  Even  the  official  report  of  the  raid 
glows  and  tingles.  Here  is  the  Admiralty  ac- 
count of  the  approach  of  the  storming  party : 

The  night  was  overcast  and  there  was  a  drifting  haze. 
Down  the  coast  a  great  searchlight  swung  its  beam  to  and 
fro  in  the  small  wind  and  short  sea.  From  the  Vindictive' s 
bridge,  as  she  headed  in  towards  the  mole,  with  the  faithful 
ferry-boats  at  her  heels,  there  was  scarcely  a  glimmer  of 
light  to  he  seen  shoreward.  Ahead,  as  she  drove  through  the 
water,  rolled  the  smoke  screen,  her  cloak  of  invisibility, 
wrapped  about  her  by  small  craft.  This  was  the  device  of 
Wing-Commander  Brock,  without  which,  acknowledges  the 
admiral  in  command,  the  operation  could  not  have  been  con- 
ducted. 

A  northeast  wind  moved  the  volume  of  it  shoreward  ahead 
of  the  ships.  Beyond  it  was  the  distant  town,  its  defenders 
unsuspicious.  It  was  not  until  the  Vindictive,  with  blue- 
jackets and  marines  standing  ready  for  landing,  was  close 
upon  the  mole  that  the  wind  lulled  and  came  away  again  from 
the  southeast,  sweeping  back  the  smoke  screen  and  laying  her 
bare  to  the  eyes  that  looked  seaward. 

There  was  a  moment  immediately  afterward  when  it  seemed 
to  those  (.n  the  ships  ;is  if  the  <lim,  coast-hidden  harbor  ex- 
ploded into  light.  A  star  shell  soared  aloft,  then  a  score  of 
star  shells.     The  wavering   beams  of  the  searchlights  swung 

279 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

around  and  settled  into  a  glare.  A  wild  fire  of  gun  flashes 
leaped  against  the  sky,  strings  of  luminous  green  beads  shot 
aloft,  hung,  and  sank.  The  darkness  of  the  night  was  sup- 
plemented by  a  nightmare  of  daylight  of  battle-fired  guns 
and  machine-guns  along  the  mole.  The  batteries  ashore  awoke 
to  life. 

As  we  read  of  the  landing  where  the  men  swept 
on  through  the  terrific  fire  of  the  German  machine- 
guns  while  the  wounded  and  dying  raised  them- 
selves to  cheer  on  their  comrades,  we  know  that 
there  are  indeed  no  limits  to  human  heroism. 

It  is  a  significant  fact  that,  as  the  bombing 
parties  went  on  with  their  task  of  destroying  the 
machine-gun  emplacements,  fortifications,  and 
other  military  equipment  of  the  mole,  they  took  no 
prisoners.  The  Germans  had  immediately  re- 
tired from  the  outlying  defenses  and  contented 
themselves  with  dealing  out  death  from  their 
machine-guns  on  the  shore.  Indeed,  they  were  so 
absorbed  in  watching  from  that  point  of  vantage 
the  annihilation  of  the  presumptuous  madman  that 
the  object  of  the  raid  was  actually  accomplished ; 
the  three  block  ships  were  successfully  placed  in 
the  channel,  a  submarine  was  blown  up  in  just 
the  right  place  to  destroy  the  viaduct  that  con- 
nected the  mole  with  the  shore,  and  the  greater 
part  of  their  brave  crews  were  rescued.     A  lead- 

280 


THE  CHIVALRY  OF  THE  SEA 

ing  German  paper,  in  commenting  on  tlie  affair, 
said:  "It  would  be  foolisii  to  deny  that  the  British 
fleet  scored  a  great  success  through  a  fantastically 
audacious  stroke  in  penetrating  into  one  of  the 
most  important  strongholds  over  which  the  Ger- 
man flag  floats." 

And  so  it  was  by  sublime  audacity  and  sub- 
limer  courage  and  faithfulness  that  the  mariners 
of  England  kept  at  their  task  of  keeping  the  seas 
until  the  hour  of  victory  struck. 

The  day  came  when  the  German  admiral  ap- 
peared before  Admiral  Beatty  to  make  arrange- 
ments for  the  formal  surrender  of  the  entire  Ger- 
man Navy.  **You  understand  that  we  are  driven 
to  this,"  he  said.  ''Hunger  leaves  no  choice." 
Then  he  presented  a  document  which  stipulated 
that  the  crews  should  be  kindly  treated. 

"Tell  them  they  are  coming  to  England;  that 
will  be  enough,"  said  Sir  David  Beatty,  tearing 
the  document  through  as  he  looked  full  into  the 
other  admiral's  eyes  calmly,  yet  with  a  Hash  in 
his  own,  'Mike  a  North  Sea  storm." 

On  the  day  of  the  bloodless,  inglorious  surren- 
der the  German  ships  steamed  out  at  last  from 
their  hiding — unscarred,  unhonorod,  and  unsung, 
and  delivered  themselves  up  to  the  victors. 

281 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

**I  always  told  you,"  said  Admiral  Beatty,  in 
acknowledging  the  resounding  cheers  of  his 
happy  mariners,  ''I  always  told  you  they  would 
have  to  come  out." 


282 


THE  CHAMPION  OF  PEACE 
PRESIDENT  WILSON 


I  do  not  believe  that  it  was  fancy  on  my  part  that  I  heard 
in  the  voice  of  welcome  uttered  in  the  streets  of  this  great 
city  and  in  the  streets  of  Pans  something  more  than  a  per- 
sonal welcome.  It  seemed  to  me  that  I  heard  the  voice  of  one 
people  speakmg  to  another  people,  and  it  was  a  voice  in 
which  one  could  distinguish  a  singular  combination  of  emo- 
tions. There  was  surely  there  the  deep  gratefulness  that  the 
fighting  was  over. 

Back  of  us  is  the  imperative  yearning  of  the  world  to  have 
all  disturbing  questions  quieted,  to  have  all  threats  against 
peace  silenced,  to  have  just  men  everywhere  come  together  for 
a  common  object.  The  peoples  of  the  world  want  peace  and 
they  want  it  now,  not  merely  by  conquest  of  arms,  but  by 
agreement  of  mind. 

WoODROw  Wilson:     Speech  at  Guild  Hall,  London, 
December  28,  1918. 


THE  CHAMPION  OF  PEACE 

From  the  very  beginning  of  the  terrible  con- 
flict between  nations  that  we  call  the  Great  War, 
President  Wilson  was  the  champion  of  peace. 
He  was  no  less  that  champion  when  he  armed  and 
led  his  people  into  battle  than  he  was  when  he 
kept  them  out  of  war.  In  the  dazzling  moment  of 
victory,  when  it  was  perhaps  even  more  difficult  to 
see  clearly  and  act  wisely  than  in  the  dark  hour 
of  struggle,  he  was  still  the  voice  of  one  crying 
peace. 

But  because  this  champion  is  a  man  of  differ- 
ent stature  from  his  fellows  he  has  been  an 
enigma  both  to  his  followers  and  his  opponents. 
"To  be  great  is  to  be  misunderstood";  and  per- 
haps the  most  bitter  part  is  the  inevitable  misun- 
derstanding of  those  who  acclaim  one  master  and 
guide,  while  giving  no  heed  to  the  true  meaning 
of  his  message.  The  voice  of  the  champion  of 
peace  was  lost  at  times  in  the  clamor  of  the  pacif- 
ists of  various  sorts. 

I  think  we  touch  the  heart  and  core  of  the  diffi- 
285 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

culty  when  we  see  that  President  Wilson  is  a 
thinker.  That  is  to  say,  he  is  fundamentally  dif- 
ferent in  his  reactions  from  the  mass  of  men,  who 
live  by  instinct  and  feeling.  Thought  is  too  la- 
borious a  process  for  most  of  us,  who  have  either 
to  work  hard  for  a  living  or  still  harder  to  keep 
ourselves  happy  and  contented.  The  many  will 
always  live  by  the  light  of  the  thought  of  the  few. 

It  is  not,  however,  as  reason  that  new  ideas  win 
men.  It  is  only  as  thought  is  translated  into  life 
and  feeling  that  it  has  power.  Then  the  truth 
seen  by  the  few  leavens  the  whole  mass  and  be- 
comes the  practical  wisdom  of  the  crowd. 

The  story  of  the  champion  of  peace  is  the  his- 
tory of  a  man  who  had  thought  deeply  on  the  vital 
concerns  of  his  nation  suddenly  thrust  into  the 
position  of  world  leader  at  a  time  when  tradi- 
tions and  landmarks  were  swept  away  by  the 
overwhelming  cataclysm  of  the  most  terrible  war 
that  mankind  had  ever  known.  It  is  only  as  we 
realize  that  he  was  facing  the  changing  world 
as  a  thinker  at  a  time  when  most  people  were  so 
swayed  by  intense  feeling  that  it  was  impossible 
to  see  things  from  more  than  one  angle,  that  we 
have  any  key  to  the  meaning  of  his  leadership. 

Those  who  have  attempted  biographical  studies 
286 


THE  CHAMPION  OF  PEACE 

of  Mr.  Wilson  are  agreed  that  the  thing  of  most 
significance  in  the  preparatory  stage  of  his  ca- 
reer was  an  article  on  ''Cabinet  Government  of 
the  United  States,"  which  he  wrote  for  a  leading 
review  in  1879,  the  year  he  received  his  A.  B.  de- 
gree from  Princeton.  This  paper,  a  carefully  de- 
veloped discussion  of  some  eighteen  pages,  was 
remarkable  both  for  the  foundation  of  solid  schol- 
arship on  which  it  rested,  and  for  its  comprehen- 
sive grasp  and  original  thought.  We  know  of 
many  instances  where  talent  or  genius  outstrips 
at  a  bound  those  who  have  toiled  through  long 
years  of  effort,  but  it  is  usually  in  some  field  where 
intuition  and  inspiration  furnish  the  wings.  It  is 
seldom  that  youth  distinguishes  itself  by  its 
breadth  of  knowledge  coupled  with  power  of  indi- 
vidual observation  and  analysis. 

We  find  it,  moreover,  worthy  of  note  that  this 
paper  written  in  his  undergraduate  days  was  a 
sort  of  preliminary  sketch  for  the  volume  "Con- 
gressional Government:  A  Study  in  American 
Politics,"  published  several  years  later.  This 
analysis  of  legislative  procedure  by  the  House 
of  Representatives,  the  Senate,  and  the  executive, 
with  particular  attention  to  the  part  played  by 
Congressional  committees,  is  not  only  important 

287 


FIGHTEES  FOR  PEACE 

in  itself,  but  as  it  throws  light  on  Mr.  Wilson's 
habits  of  thought  and  his  policies  as  President. 
"We  see,  first,  that  he  was  willing  to  devote  years 
of  patient  study  to  one  subject;  and,  second, 
that,  in  so  far  as  possible,  he  worked  out  in  prac- 
tice the  things  that  he  had  presented  in  theory. 

It  is  also  significant  that  he  spent  nearly  thirty 
years  in  his  preparatory  studies  before  he  en- 
tered upon  his  work  as  a  professor  of  history  and 
political  science ;  and  this,  in  turn,  was  but  a  fur- 
ther period  of  preparation  for  his  original,  ad- 
ministrative work  as  an  educator  and  statesman. 
Only  a  man  used  to  proceeding  by  the  slow,  sure- 
footed way  of  deliberate,  reasoned  thought  would 
have  been  content  to  go  forward  so  painstakingly, 
waiting  for  the  fullness  of  time  for  results. 

Is  it  not  strange  that  this  President,  who  was 
above  all  else  a  man  of  peace,  who  asked  for  noth- 
ing but  the  chance  to  work  out  constructive  plans 
for  the  betterment  of  our  financial  system,  labor 
conditions,  and  the  conservation  of  our  national 
resources,  should  have  been  from  almost  the  be- 
ginning of  his  term  compelled  to  grapple  with  the 
problems  of  war?  It  was  as  if  Fate  said,  ''The 
time  has  come  when  your  nation  must  be  proved 
not  in  aloofness,  but  as  a  sharer  of  the  fortunes 

288 


THE  CHAMPION  OF  PEACE 

of  other  nations."     In  the  days  when  the  makers 
of  the  republic  talked  about  avoiding  "entangling 
alliances,"  the  oceans  that  swept  the  coasts  of 
America  did,  indeed,  mean  separation  and  pro- 
tection.    But  modern  discoveries  and  inventions, 
with  changed  conditions  of  commerce,  competi- 
tion, and  means  of  aggression,  have  compelled  a 
new  policy.     It  is  no  longer  possible  for  a  nation 
to  live  or  die  unto  itself.    As  different  peoples 
won  civilization  when  they  realized  that  coopera- 
tion must  supplant  the  law  of  the  jungle,  so  now 
the  various  nations  were  to  learn  that  they  were 
of  one  kindred,  and  that  only  as  they  succeeded 
in  working  out  their  salvation  through  mutual 
forbearance  and  friendliness  could  the  race  of 
men  endure. 

Mr.  Wilson  at  once  made  it  clear  (as  he  had  pre- 
sented the  matter  in  his  "Congressional  Govern- 
ment") that  it  was  possible  for  a  President  to  be 
in  effect  a  prime  minister,  initiating  and  directing 
a  definite  plan  of  legislation  as  active,  responsi- 
ble head  of  his  party,  instead  of  leaving  the  con- 
trol to  irresponsible,  but  all-powerful,  commit- 
tees in  Congress.  The  new  order  of  things  was 
inaugurated  and  symbolized  by  the  way  in  which 
he  revived  the  early  practice  of  Washington  and 

289 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

Adams  in  appearing  before  Congress  and  deliv- 
ering his  messages  in  person,  instead  of  sending 
more  or  less  perfunctory  documents  to  be  read 
by  the  clerk.  When  Jefferson,  who  was  not  par- 
ticularly happy  as  a  speech-maker,  set  the  prec- 
edent of  written  messages,  the  gulf  between  the 
legislative  and  executive  branches  of  our  gov- 
ernment was  definitely  widened,  and  the  defects  of 
our  system,  as  compared  with  the  English  democ- 
racy, where  responsible  executive  heads  are  a  part 
of  the  deliberative  body,  became  in  time  more  and 
more  marked. 

As  we  have  seen,  Mr.  Wilson  fully  realized  this 
defect  in  the  way  the  check  and  balance  system, 
as  planned  by  the  framers  of  the  Constitution, 
had  been  altered  in  the  practical  working  of  our 
government,  and  he  was  determined  to  be  a  pre- 
mier President,  and  insure  an  efficient,  construc- 
tive handling  of  the  promises  laid  down  in  his 
party  platform. 

''You  have  to  admire  the  President  for  his  stub- 
born courage  if  for  nothing  else,"  said  a  fair- 
minded  opponent  of  the  administration.  ''And 
when  you  consider  that  he  is  living  up  literally 
to  principles  he  has  held  for  some  forty  years 
you  must  admit  that  he  has  had  time  to  form  an 

290 


THE  CHAMPION  OF  PEACE 
opinion.     If  the  members  of  Congress  had  read 
and    marked    his    'Congressional    Government,' 
they  might  have  been  less  amazed  by  his  'czarism' 

as  they  call  it." 

For  the  feelmg  grew  in  the  legislative  branch 
of  the  government  that  its  prerogatives  were  be- 
ing more  and  more  usurped  by  the  executive. 
Members  of  the  President's  party  were  given  defi- 
nite instructions  as  to  their  proper  action;  when 
some  dared  to  oppose  him  and  to  obstruct  im- 
portant measures,  their  constituencies  were  in- 
voked in  the  name  of  loyalty  to  the  administra- 
tion not  to  return  the  rebellious  member.     It  was 
said  that  the  President  was  maintaining  the  dis- 
cipline of  a  strict  schoolmaster.     Certainly  he 
held  the  whip  hand,  and  by  sheer  force  of  will  suc- 
ceeded   in    putting    through    an    extraordinary 
amount    of    important    legislation,    despite    the 
clamor  of  sectional  interests.     Those  who  had  de- 
clared that  the  Democratic  party  was  so  lacking  in 
coherence   of  policies   and  principles   that   they 
could  never  carry  through  any  really  constructive 
program  were  put  to  confusion. 

But  in  the  meantime  the  breach  between  Con- 
gress and  the  President  widened.  He  was  re- 
spected or  feared  by  all;  he  was  understood  by 

291 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

none.  Even  those  who  came  into  close  touch  with 
Mr.  Wilson  (and  that  was  a  privilege  accorded  to 
few)  frankly  admitted  that  they  did  not  under- 
stand him. 

A  sentence  or  two  which  Mr.  Wilson  once  wrote 
of  Mr.  Cleveland  as  President  would  seem  to 
throw  some  light  on  his  own  attitude.  *'A  cer- 
tain tough  and  stubborn  fibre  is  necessary  (in  a 
President),  which  does  not  easily  change,  which 
is  inelastically  strong."  This  ''tough  and  stub- 
born fibre"  was  the  more  easily  preserved  be- 
cause of  Mr.  Wilson's  remoteness  from  personal 
contacts  that  might  have  subjected  it  to  strain. 

"To  Washington  the  closed  gates  of  the  White 
House  symbolize  the  President,"  says  Maurice 
Low,  in  his  biographical  study.  ''The  White 
House  seems  a  place  of  mystery  as  great  as  Mr. 
Wilson  himself  .  .  .  Seldom  does  the  President 
ask  any  one  to  break  bread  with  him.  Even  with 
the  members  of  the  cabinet  there  is  almost  no 
real  intercourse.  They  transact  their  business 
with  him,  they  see  him  as  necessity  or  occasion  de- 
mands, but  intimacy  does  not  exist.  Mr.  Wilson, 
after  five  years  in  the  searchlight  of  a  hundred 
million  curious  and  inquisitive  people,  remains  as 

292 


THE  CHAMPION  OF  PEACE 

remote,  as  unknown,  as  elusive  a  personality  as  if 
he  belonged  to  another  sphere." 

But  the  President's  aloofness  is  itself  a  symbol. 
It  is  the  outward  sign  of  an  inward  difference 
that  sets  him  apart  from  the  mass  of  men.  That 
difference,  as  has  been  already  indicated,  is  the 
keynote  to  his  character.  '*He  is  a  straight 
thinker,"  said  a  man  whom  circumstances  had 
brought  in  close  touch  with  Mr.  Wilson  in  recent 
years,  ''and  straight  thinking  is  so  rare  that  it 
mystifies.  Most  men  do  not  think,  and  the  few 
•who  do  have  muddy  thoughts.  The  President 
thinks  straight,  and  his  thoughts  are  clear." 

Most  people  were  certainly  mystified  by  the  po- 
sition Mr.  Wilson  took  in  face  of  the  anarchy  in 
Mexico.  "Why  doesn't  the  United  States  step 
in  and  clean  up  that  plague  spot  at  our  border, 
and  safeguard  the  interests  of  Americans  and 
American  business?"  it  was  asked.  The  Pres- 
ident was  accused  of  weakness  and  indecision 
when  he  refused  to  adopt  a  policy  of  intervention 
to  protect  by  force  of  arms  the  commercial  ad- 
venturers whose  enterprise  had  led  them  to  cast 
in  their  lot  with  the  Mexicans. 

**Have  not  the  European  nations,"  said  Mr. 
293 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

Wilson,  "taken  as  long  as  they  wanted  and 
spilled  as  much  blood  as  they  pleased  in  settling 
their  affairs,  and  shall  we  deny  that  to  Mexico 
because  she  is  weak!  No,  I  say.  I  am  proud  to 
belong  to  a  great  nation  that  says,  'This  country 
which  we  could  crush  shall  have  as  much  freedom 
in  her  own  affairs  as  we  have.'  " 

Mexico,  however,  had  no  basis  for  understand- 
ing the  nature  of  this  toleration,  which  seemed  to 
spell  weakness  (as  it  did  to  many  in  America), 
and  her  deliberate  aggressions  made  it  necessary 
for  United  States  troops  to  enter  that  unhappy 
country.  But  after  brief  terms  of  occupation 
they  were  withdrawn,  since  the  President  stead- 
fastly refused  to  make  any  difficulties  a  cause  of 
war. 

**I  have  faith  that  democracy  will  in  spite  of 
everything  win  its  way, ' '  he  said.  * '  The  stronger 
nation  can  afford  to  be  patient.  We  are,  per- 
haps, finding  a  chance  of  proving  to  the  peoples 
of  Central  and  South  America  that  we  stand  for 
peace,  and  for  the  right  of  each  nation,  great  or 
small,  to  free,  unmolested  development." 

The  President's  policy  in  the  Philippines  also 
showed  his  faith  in  democracy,  and  made  for 
peace.     The  desire  of  the  islanders  for  a  larger 

294 


THE  CHAMPION  OF  PEACE 

measure  of  home  rule  was  granted  by  replacing 
the  Philippine  Commission  by  an  elected,  repre- 
sentative body,  and  the  guardian  nation  definitely 
put  on  record  its  pledge  "to  withdraw  its  sover- 
eignty over  the  Philippine  Islands  and  to  recog- 
nize their  independence  as  soon  as  a  stable  gov- 
ernment can  be  established  therein." 

From  the  very  beginning  of  his  administration, 
Mr.  Wilson  had  to  deal  with  these  perplexing  for- 
eign problems.  The  Mexican  question  had  al- 
ready reached  a  critical  stage  when  he  came  into 
office.  Feeling  ran  high.  American  lives  had 
been  taken;  American  property  had  been  de- 
stroyed. Some  strong  action  should  be  taken. 
War?  Well,  it  might  not  come  to  that,  but  we 
should  make  the  power  of  the  United  States  felt 
in  no  uncertain  way.  The  policy  of  "watchful 
waiting"  was  an  exasperation. 

"The  President  has  no  policy.  He  is  an  oppor- 
tunist, steering  no  straight  course,  but  depending 
on  the  wind  of  circumstance,"  it  was  said.  So  the 
President's  faith  and  patience  were  read  by  many 
who  could  see  the  Mexican  situation  only  from 
the  angle  of  American  problems  and  prejudices. 

Have  we  not  now  the  key  to  Mr.  Wilson's  at- 
titude towards  the  European  tragedy?     Can  we 

295 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

not  understand  in  some  measure  even  that  strange 
appeal  to  the  people  to  be  neutral  in  the  face  of 
what  many  saw  was  a  life  or  death  struggle  be- 
tween freedom  and  ruthless  autocracy? 

**The  United  States  must  be  neutral  in  fact  as 
well  as  in  name,"  he  wrote,  '* during  these  days 
that  are  to  try  men's  souls.  We  must  be  impar- 
tial in  thought  as  well  as  in  action;  must  put  a 
curb  upon  our  sentiments  as  well  as  upon  every 
transaction  that  might  be  construed  as  a  prefer- 
ence of  one  party  to  the  struggle  before  another. 

"Shall  we  not  resolve  to  put  upon  ourselves 
the  restraint  which  will  bring  to  our  people  the 
happiness  and  the  great  and  lasting  influence  for 
peace  we  covet  for  them?" 

Probably  only  to  the  President,  champion  of 
peace,  and  one  who  was  accustomed  to  acting  in 
accordance  with  the  dictates  of  reason,  not  feel- 
ing, was  such  a  neutrality  possible. 

America  was,  however,  even  less  prepared  for 
war  in  thought  than  in  armies  and  munitions. 
The  world  it  knew  was  built  on  foundations  of 
peace  and  freedom  for  all.  One  could  not  even 
conceive  the  new  order.  Mr.  Wilson,  whose  whole 
soul  and  every  habit  of  thought  cried  out  against 

296 


<^  Uudorwood  A  lJM.Jurwo..d 


WOODHOW  WILSON 
I'ruHiduiil  of  tilt:  Uiiilod  States 


THE  CHAMPION  OF  PEACE 

the  appeal  to  force  in  the  settlement  of  difficulties, 
saw  only  that  the  United  States  among  all  the 
nations  must  have  the  faith  and  the  sanity  to 
keep  in  the  way  of  peace.  For  her  o\vn  sake  and 
for  the  saving  help  she  might  one  day  give  to  the 
stricken  peoples  of  Europe,  she  must  avoid  en- 
tangling alliances. 

He  himself  must  face  the  situation  soberly,  tak- 
ing time  to  weigh  every  factor.  He  saw  that  he 
had  the  responsibility  of  acting  as  guide  and  trus- 
tee to  a  divided  nation.  There  were  those — peo- 
ple for  the  most  part  in  the  Eastern  States — who 
had  formed  the  habit  of  looking  in  thought  and 
sympathy  across  the  Atlantic,  who  were  stirred 
to  the  depths  by  the  plight  of  Belgium  and 
France,  and  who  were  convinced  that  civilization 
itself  was  threatened.  Then  there  were  the  Ger- 
man-Americans, as  they  were  called,  some  five 
million  people  born  in  Germany  and  Austro-Hun- 
gary,  together  with  nine  millions  of  German  pa- 
rentage. Between  these  two  camps  were  those 
who  for  some  reason — prejudice  due  to  crude  or 
false  history  teaching,  or  Irish  sympathies — were 
hostile  to  England.  German  propaganda,  more- 
over, was  ceaselessly  at  work  to  foster  suspicion 
of  Great  Britain  and  so  to  remove  the  chance  of 

297 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

understanding  and  alliance  between  the  two  great 
English-speaking  democracies.  It  must  also  be 
remembered  that  those  who  had  suffered  through 
Russian  oppression,  the  Jewish  and  Polish  immi- 
grants, for  instance,  were  antagonistic  to  the 
Allies.  Many  Americans  were,  indeed,  more  or 
less  suspicious  of  Russia,  and  all  had  been  brought 
up  to  think  only  good  of  Germany.  These  facts 
must  explain  the  various  shades  of  opinion  and 
prejudice  that  clouded  the  vision  of  well-meaning 
people  in  the  early  days  of  the  war.  The  Pres- 
ident saw  the  country  divided  into  these  distinct 
classes,  and  he  saw  a  very  large  number  from 
among  all  groups  who  were  so  content  with  the 
sudden  tide  of  prosperity  that  the  needs  of  the 
w^arring  countries  had  brought  to  business  of  ev- 
ery kind  that  they  asked  only  for  a  continuance 
of  peace  and  the  opportunity  for  profit.  Surely 
neutrality  was  the  only  safe,  the  only  possible 
course. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  war,  however,  it  was 
soon  evident  that  nothing  more  than  an  impersonal, 
oflScial  neutrality  could  be  preserved.  American 
enterprise,  sorely  tempted  by  the  price  Germany 
was  willing  to  pay  for  certain  products,  felt  re- 
sentment against  the  British  blockade  which  in- 

298 


THE  CHAMPION  OF  PEACE 

terfered  with  profits.  On  the  other  hand,  Amer- 
ican lives  were  lost  by  the  piratical  methods  of 
German  submarine  warfare.  We  have  heard  it 
said  that  ''money  talks,"  but  that  ''dead  men  tell 
no  tales."  It  would  seem  as  if  for  a  time  public 
sentiment  in  America  gave  point  to  these  cjmical 
proverbs,  since  more  feeling  was  apparently 
aroused  by  the  business  losses  than  by  the  crimes 
of  Germany.  Carefully  neutral  notes  of  protest 
were  sent  to  both  powers,  which  had  no  effect  ex- 
cept to  produce  irritation  in  the  countries  con- 
cerned. To  England,  who  was  using  the  legiti- 
mate weapon  of  siege  against  her  enemies,  it 
seemed  that  America  thought  only  of  the  profiteer- 
ing opportunity  that  the  war  gave.  To  Germany, 
helpless  in  the  toils  of  the  blockade,  Americans 
were  also  a  vulgar,  profit-loving  people,  who  were, 
moreover,  guilty  of  the  infamy  of  furnishing  muni- 
tions to  her  enemies. 

In  her  impotent  fury  she  threw  aside  all  regard 
for  tlie  laws  of  nations  and  of  humanity.  Work- 
ing through  the  Germans  in  America,  she  jjlotted 
to  destroy  factories  carrying  contracts  with  Great 
Britain,  and  her  crimes  on  the  seas  culminated  in 
the  sinking  of  the  Lusitania,  a  great,  floating  ho- 
tel, filled  with  passengers  belonging  for  the  most 

299 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

part  to  a  neutral  nation.  But  the  German  tor- 
pedo that  mangled  this  unarmed  ocean  liner,  and 
sent  it  in  a  few  minutes  to  the  bottom,  with  twelve 
hundred  innocent  victims,  did  a  greater,  a  more 
deadly  work,  of  which  those  who  celebrated  the 
** triumph"  in  Berlin  little  dreamed.  **A11  peo- 
ples— and  the  cowardly,  dollar-loving  Americans 
in  particular — will  think  twice  now  before  they 
defy  the  might  of  our  Fatherland,"  exulted  the 
disciples  of  *'frightfulness." 

It  was  indeed  a  ''shot  heard  round  the  world," 
but  somehow  people  did  not  quail  and  crouch  as 
the  Germans  had  anticipated.  With  all  their 
science  and  philosophy,  how  little  they  understood 
other  nations  and  the  springs  of  human  action! 
Even  indifferent  and  unthinking  people  were  now 
aroused  to  a  realization  of  the  German  menace. 
The  mobilization  of  America  began  at  that  mo- 
ment. 

All  eyes  were  turned  to  the  President.  Con- 
sciously or  unconsciously,  the  people  of  the  nation 
were  crying  out  for  a  leader.  Even  those  who 
had  acclaimed  the  champion  of  peace  chiefly  on 
the  negative  count  that  "he  kept  us  out  of  war," 
felt  that  there  must  be  in  this  crisis  some  strong 

300 


THE  CHAMPION  OF  PEACE 

expression  of  the  outraged  heart  and  conscience 
of  humanity. 

For  a  day  or  two  the  President  was  silent. 
Then,  in  speaking  to  a  meeting  of  newly  natural- 
ized citizens  in  Philadelphia,  he  simply  repeated 
a  message  that  he  had  voiced  on  many  other  oc- 
casions in  regard  to  the  duty  of  Americans  as  a 
people  with  a  mission ; 

*'The  example  of  America  must  be  a  special 
example,"  he  said.  ''The  example  of  America 
must  be  the  example  not  merely  of  peace,  because 
it  will  not  fight,  but  of  peace  because  peace  is  the 
healing  and  elevating  influence  of  the  world  and 
strife  is  not.  There  is  such  a  thing  as  a  man  be- 
ing too  proud  to  fight.  There  is  such  a  thing  as  a 
nation  being  so  right  that  it  does  not  need  to  con- 
vince others  by  force  that  it  is  right." 

Nothing  could  illustrate  more  completely  the 
aloofness  of  the  President  from  the  natural  feel- 
ing of  people  than  this  speech.  When  they  asked 
for  the  bread  of  counsel  and  guidance  he  gave 
them  this  stone  of  self-righteous  preachment! 

It  is  easy,  too,  to  understand  tlie  cfl'oct  the  one 
phrase,  ''Too  proud  to  fight,"  had,  when  it  was 
flashed  over  the  wires  to  England  and  France, 

301 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

countries  who  were  giving  their  life-blood  that 
freedom  might  not  perish  from  the  earth.  If 
they  did  not  say,  ''Those  insufferable,  dollar- 
serving  Yankees  actually  have  the  effrontery  to 
flaunt  their  selfishness  as  superiority!"  it  was  be- 
cause they  were  speechless  with  indignation. 

It  is  clear,  however,  that  this  "blazing  indis- 
cretion," as  one  biographer  of  Mr.  Wilson  calls 
the  *'Too  proud  to  fight"  speech,  illustrates  not 
only  the  President's  remoteness  from  the  emo- 
tional reactions  of  his  fellows,  but  also  his  preoc- 
cupation with  his  own  train  of  thought.  Looking 
before  and  after,  can  we  not  understand  what  he 
was  trying  to  say  to  the  people?  America  must 
testify  to  a  faith  in  peace  as  the  healing  of  the 
nations.  A  man  can  have  such  entire  confidence 
in  his  cause  that  he  feels  it  does  not  rest  with  his 
puny  strength  to  establish  it.  He  knows  that  the 
foundation  principle  of  the  universe,  the  law 
''that  preserves  the  stars  from  wrong,"  is  on  his 
side.  Can  he  not  then  be  sure  of  the  victory? 
"Why  should  the  unconquerable  soul  feel  that  it 
must  rely  on  the  weapons  of  flesh? 

We  cannot  doubt  that  Wilson,  the  thinker,  was 
striving  to  drive  home  some  appreciation  of  this 
truth  at  a  time  when  he  saw  that  America  must 

302 


THE  CHAMPION  OF  PEACE 

soon  join  the  ranks  of  those  who  were  fighting  for 
peace.  For  he  knew  that  Germany  was  surely, 
relentlessly,  bringing  the  war  to  America,  as  she 
had  to  the  democracies  of  Europe ;  and  he  felt  that 
it  must  be  his  task  to  prepare  his  country  to  meet 
the  stress  of  that  time  worthily,  by  fighting  with 
all  that  was  in  her  for  a  just  peace.  Never  for  a 
moment  did  he  lose  his  hold  upon  the  faith  that 
peace  was  the  only  basis  for  the  life  of  the  nation 
as  for  the  individual,  but  his  speeches  now 
sounded  a  new  note  of  warning  that  all  must  stand 
ready  to  keep  the  peace  by  defending  the  right 
against  ruthless  might. 

"We  are  peculiar  in  this,"  he  said,  "that  from 
the  first  we  have  dedicated  our  force  to  the  serv- 
ice of  justice  and  righteousness  and  peace.  But 
do  you  not  see  that,  in  guarding  the  honor  of  the 
nation,  I  am  not  protecting  it  against  itself,  for 
we  are  not  going  to  do  anything  to  stain  the  honor 
of  our  own  country.  I  am  protecting  it  against 
things  that  I  cannot  control,  the  action  of  others. 
And  where  the  action  of  others  may  bring  us  I 
cannot  foretell.  You  may  count  upon  my  heart 
and  resolution  to  keep  you  out  of  the  war,  but 
you  must  be  ready  if  it  is  necessary  that  I  should 
maintain  your  honor." 

303 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

It  was  only  too  evident  to  those  who  were  in 
a  position  to  know  something  of  what  lay  behind 
Germany 's  moves  that  she  had  consented  to  abate 
her  terrorism  on  the  seas  merely  to  gain  time 
while  equipping  herself  with  new  and  improved 
submarines.  The  President  had  every  reason  to 
believe  that,  as  soon  as  she  felt  herself  fully  armed, 
she  would  once  more  defy  America,  the  rights  of 
neutral  nations,  and  the  laws  of  humanity.  On 
the  eve  of  that  day,  however,  he  made  one  last 
effort  to  lead  the  war-weary  peoples  to  a  perma- 
nent peace. 

Addressing  the  Senate  on  January  22,  1917,  he 
said  in  effect:  Have  not  all,  through  suffering, 
come  to  a  point  where  there  can  be  a  mutual  agree- 
ment to  forego  immediate  triumph  for  the  great 
victory  to  all  mankind  that  a  permanent  peace 
would  mean — a  peace  based  not  on  ''balance  of 
power,  but  a  community  of  power?"  Each  side 
says  that  there  is  no  desire  to  crush  the  other. 
Why  not  now  come  together  and  make  that  real 
by  declaring  for  a  "peace  without  victory,"  a 
stable,  forward-looking  peace  that  rests  on  the 
principles,  first,  of  the  right  of  all  peoples  great 
and  small  to  their  own  national  life,  and  a  govern- 
ment deriving  its  authority  from  the  consent  of 

304 


THE  CHAMPION  OF  PEACE 

the  governed ;  and  second,  a  league  of  free  nations 
to  adjust  and  settle  differences,  hence  **the  mod- 
eration of  armaments,  which  makes  of  armies  and 
navies  a  power  for  order  merely,  not  an  instru- 
ment of  aggression  or  of  selfish  violence?" 

Not  even  the  President's  ''Too  proud  to  fight" 
speech  was  more  unpopular  than  this  "Peace 
without  victory"  plea.  To  the  Germans,  who 
were  confident  of  an  early,  sweeping  success,  it 
was  only  taken  seriously  as  it  seemed  an  indica- 
tion of  weakness.  To  the  Allies,  who  had  fought 
a  hard  fight  for  two  and  a  half  years  against  ter- 
rible odds,  it  seemed  an  unthinkable  compromise 
with  the  forces  of  death  and  destruction.  Only 
with  the  evasive  pacifists,  who  seized  as  their 
slogan  of  the  moment,  "Peace  without  victory," 
did  the  speech  find  welcome.  And  to  the  Pres- 
ident, who  knew  that  the  peace  for  which  he  was 
pleading,  like  all  precious  things,  could  only  be 
won  through  travail  and  sacrifice,  this  unthinking 
acclaim  must  have  been  bitter,  indeed. 

This  speech  was  the  brave  attempt  of  an  ideal- 
ist to  lead  the  way  to  a  practical  application  of  the 
moral  principles  governing  the  lives  of  right- 
minded  individuals  and  nations,  to  international 
problems.     Surely  that  was  at  once  idealism  and 

305 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

common  sense.  Could  civilization  itself  survive 
another  such  struggle,  where  the  tooth-and-claw 
method  was  reinforced  by  the  diabolic  contriv- 
ances of  modern  science? 

The  President's  plea  was  also  a  last  effort  to 
win  Germany  from  her  faith  in  the  gospel  of  force 
and  the  divine  right  of  the  strongest,  before 
sounding  the  call  to  arms.  Never  again  would  the 
chance  for  a  peace  by  treaty  be  hers.  ^Hien 
America  was  convinced  that  only  in  terms  of  force 
would  her  protests  against  aggression  and  in- 
humanity be  heeded,  there  could  be  no  end  but 
that  of  unconditional  surrender. 

On  January  31,  1917,  when  Germany  announced 
her  renewal  of  the  submarine  warfare,  in  effect 
closing  the  seas  to  the  ships  of  neutral  nations,  the 
President  at  once  severed  diplomatic  relations 
and  asked  Congress  for  authority  to  declare  ''a 
state  of  armed  neutrality"  existing  against  Ger- 
many. This  meant  arming  merchant-ships  and 
taking  all  precautions  possible  to  protect  Amer- 
ican lives  and  American  commerce.  *'I  hope," 
he  said,  ''that  I  need  give  no  further  proofs  and 
assurances  than  I  have  already  given  throughout 
nearly  three  years  of  anxious  patience  that  I  am 
the  friend  of  peace  and  mean  to  preserve  it  for 

306 


THE  CHAMPION  OF  PEACE 

America  as  long  as  1  am  able.  I  am  not  now  pro- 
posing or  contemplating  war  or  any  steps  that 
lead  to  it.  I  believe  that  the  people  will  be  willing 
to  trust  me  to  act  with  restraint,  with  prudence, 
and  the  true  spirit  of  amity  and  good  faith  that 
they  have  themselves  displayed  throughout  these 
trying  months. ' ' 

Only  a  man  who  had  thoroughly  convinced  the 
American  people  that  he  had  used  every  possible 
honorable  means  of  keeping  peace  could  have  led 
a  united  nation  into  war.  But  when  war  was  seen 
to  be  inevitable  there  were  no  half-way  measures. 
America,  convinced  at  last  that  force  was  the 
only  language  that  would  be  understood,  could 
use  ''force,  force  to  the  utmost,  force  without 
stint  or  limit"  in  order  "to  make  the  world  safe 
for  democracy." 

In  addressing  the  extra  session  of  Congress  on 
the  evening  of  April  second,  President  Wilson 
said  in  conclusion: 

"It  is  a  fearful  thing  to  lead  this  great  peaceful 
people  into  war,  into  the  most  terrible  and  disas- 
trous of  all  wars,  civilization  itself  seeming  to  be 
in  the  balance.  But  the  right  is  more  precious 
than  peace,  and  we  shall  fight  for  the  things  that 
we  have  carried  nearest  our  hearts,  for  democracy, 

307 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

for  the  right  of  those  who  submit  to  authority 
to  have  a  voice  in  their  owm  governments,  for  the 
rights  and  liberties  of  small  nations,  for  a  univer- 
sal dominion  of  right  by  such  a  concert  of  free 
people  as  shall  bring  peace  and  safety  to  all  na- 
tions and  make  the  world  itself  at  last  free." 

From  the  beginning,  when  the  President  de- 
clared for  the  principle  of  universal  liability  to 
service  as  the  only  democratic  and  efficient  means 
of  assembling  an  army,  to  his  final  determined 
stand  with  the  Allies  for  unconditional  surrender, 
the  champion  of  peace  stood  for  a  vigorous  pros- 
ecution of  the  war — force  to  the  utmost.  But  it 
was  always  a  forward-looking  struggle,  because 
never  for  a  moment  did  he  allow  the  people  to 
lose  sight  of  the  great  goal. 

''The  great  fact  that  stands  out  above  all  the 
rest,"  he  said  in  his  Flag  Day  address,  '*is  that 
this  is  a  people's  war,  a  war  for  freedom  and  jus- 
tice and  self-government  amongst  all  the  nations 
of  the  world,  a  war  to  make  the  world  safe  for 
the  peoples  that  live  upon  it  and  have  made  it 
their  own,  the  German  peoples  themselves  in- 
cluded. 

"For  us  there  is  but  one  choice.  We  have 
made  it.  .  .  .  Once  more  we  shall  make  good  with 

308 


THE  CHAMPION  OF  PEACE 

our  lives  and  fortunes  the  great  faith  to  which  we 
were  born,  and  a  new  glory  shall  shine  in  the  face 
of  our  people." 

Striving  to  put  the  nation's  purpose  into  con- 
crete form,  Mr.  Wilson,  in  an  address  to  Con- 
gress on  January  8,  1918,  laid  down  his  famous 
''fourteen  points"  on  which  a  just  and  lasting 
peace  might  be  founded.  ' '  An  evident  principle, ' ' 
he  said,  ''runs  through  the  whole  program  I  have 
outlined.  It  is  the  principle  of  justice  to  all  peo- 
ples and  nationalities,  and  their  right  to  live  on 
equal  terms  of  liberty  and  safety  with  one  an- 
other, whether  they  be  strong  or  weak."  The 
fourteen  planks  that  the  President  held  out  for 
the  building  of  a  peace  platform  were  at  once 
the  subject  of  query  and  debate.  That  was 
surely  their  purpose,  to  make  people  consider 
the  question  of  proper  material  and  the  need  of 
building.  Also  was  it  not  with  that  purpose  in 
mind  that  details  and  methods  of  adjustment  were 
left  for  time  to  determine?  But  the  cardinal 
principles  of  justice  to  all  peoples  and  a  guarantee 
of  "their  right  to  live  on  equal  terms  of  liberty 
and  safety  with  one  another"  through  the  forma- 
tion of  a  protective  league  of  nations  shone  out 
like  beacon  lights. 

309 


FIGHTERS  FOR  PEACE 

Among  the  earnest  and  straight-thinking  pacif- 
ists there  were  those  who  voiced  the  fear  that  in 
the  intoxication  of  victory,  America  might  be- 
come enamored  with  her  own  prowess  and,  for- 
getting her  true  mission,  enter  into  competition 
with  the  other  nations  for  power  through  arma- 
ments. And  President  Wilson,  feeling  that  the 
moment  of  triumph  was  a  time  of  testing  no  less 
critical  than  the  hour  of  battle,  decided  to  cast 
aside  precedent  and  prejudice  and  go  to  confer 
face  to  face  with  those  who  would  have  the  task 
of  arranging  the  terms  of  peace. 

''It  must  be  as  the  prime  minister,  not  as  the 
chief  executive  of  my  nation,  that  I  take  part  in 
the  deliberation,"  he  said  to  Premier  Clemen- 
ceau. 

We  may  perhaps  find  an  indication  of  the  pos- 
itive influence  of  the  champion  of  peace  with  kings 
and  leaders  as  well  as  with  the  people  of  the  Al- 
lied nations  in  these  words  with  which  the  King 
of  Italy  welcomed  him  to  Rome : 

''Italy  and  America  entered  together  into  the 
war  through  a  rare  act  of  will, ' '  said  King  Victor 
Emmanuel;  "they  were  moved  by  the  purpose 
to  concur  with  all  their  energies  in  an  effort  to 
prevent  the  domination  of  the  cult  of  force  in  the 

310 


THE  CHAMPION  OF  PEACE 

world;  they  were  moved  by  the  purpose  to  re- 
affirm in  the  scale  of  human  values  the  principles 
of  liberty  and  justice.  They  entered  into  war 
to  conquer  the  powers  of  war.  Their  accomplish- 
ment is  still  unfinished,  and  the  common  work 
must  still  be  developed  with  firm  faith  and  con- 
stancy for  the  purpose  of  effecting  the  security 
of  peace." 


311 


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